When Push Comes to Shove: Deny, Deny, Deny
by Sasusakui
Summary: Lili is put in a very tough position by her sadistic father who only lives and breathes to destroy Mishima Co. and he uses his own daughter to assist him. After being handed over to Jin as a wife through a business transaction, Edward Rochefort instructs his daughter to gain her way into Jin's heart. Unfortunately, she gains her way into someone else's.
1. Chapter 1

Play the Game or We'll Find Someone That Will

**Chapter 1**

Kiss him. All you have to do is win his heart and become his forever. That way, it'll be easy for us to go in for the kill and strike him down from his throne. It'll be easy for you yes? This wouldn't be your first time completely destroying someone in the worst way would it? Of course it isn't. Remember who you really are and don't pretend to be the precious thing that everyone perceives you to be.

Lili closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, cutting her eyes across the room this way and that. There would be no stopping today even if she had stayed asleep in bed that morning. Her hands were folded and set in her lap exactly like a proper lady, and not a single hair or thread on her was out of place. The only thing that seemed to not fit in the room was her depressing attitude that clouded the whole place and weighed down the very atmosphere around her. She knew her father could slap her right now for not looking as happy as he was about the transaction, but she couldn't help her unhappiness. All the tournaments she competed in, all the seemingly meaningful street fights she would get into- all for nothing. All just so her father could recover by the grace of God and hand her over to the same person she despised the most and happened to be the reason why he fell bedridden in the first place. It was the ultimate betrayal. But like Lili was brought up to know and remember: there was always an ulterior motive behind her father's actions. He _**never**_ did anything for free, nor did he ever do anything for "**_no reason_**", there was always a reason. So there was a reason behind this too, this disgusting transaction.

She kept her head bowed and her mouth shut as words flew across the table about what she would do for Jin on a daily basis (including the fact that she would also be his wife) up until she turned twenty-one (the lowest age her father consented to) that Jin was free to do what he wished with his daughter that didn't include killing her or making her his personal slave, specifically saying those words exactly.

Jin sat at the head of the long, oval table. To his right, his secretary Nina (and also personal assassin and bodyguard not that Lili's father knew), to his left a man named Eddy whom Lili once had the privilege of fighting before, and standing not too far behind the dark, brooding male was a much older, and more muscular male who was probably the spitting image of his son sitting before him. He was brooding as well, almost glaring into the distance past Lili's head, which from the awkward angle in which the blonde was sitting in, made it seem like his dark attention was turned onto her. That was hardly the case ,but she didn't know that. All she wanted to do was slink back into her embroidered king set and sleep the rest of her life away. Instead, she was forced to sit at the most awkward meeting of her life filled with the very people she hated the most (now her father included).

Sitting at the opposite head of the table was her regal looking father, whose bright blue eyes indicated his newfound health and just as equally healthy business spirit. To his right sat none other than his rather infamous daughter, and to his left sat his loyal butler Sebastian who hadn't said a word since the four hours of them all just sitting and plotting how the two businesses would merge finally.

"Merging our companies together would take us all to new heights, the possibilities are endless" Lili's father spoke convincingly.

Out of the young girl's peripheral vision, she could see Mishima stifle a soft snort and the shake of disapproval of his head. At least someone wasn't really buying into her father's bullshit right then. However, when she glanced at Kazama, she could see the calculative glint in his onyx eyes. He was actually considering the proposal and most likely going through all the pro's and con's of the deal. One of the "reassurances" her father had put on the table was his precious daughter's hand in marriage. A marriage in which Lili had no say so in. She felt shackled to her very death, and her death happened to be dressed in Louis Vuiton shoes she didn't quite agree with.

"You're correct in saying that we would all benefit from this merging. Our ratings would be through the roof and we could spread our reach to all the corners of the world, not that we really needed your help with that anyway, but the thought is nice considering all that's happened" Jin paused momentarily, looking from the slightly twitching father and to the dejected looking daughter and then sighing to himself. "But to put it simply, our funds are running rather low compared to the vast reserves of the Rochefort estate and this last small recession hit Mishima Co. pretty hard. We can't afford another hit like that again..."

Moment of truth. Lili was hoping for Jin's next words to go a little something like this: "...but we'll be just fine on our own. Your offer is appreciated ,but not needed. So you can keep your dying company and your too young for everyone in this room daughter" and then he'll stand up and leave following behind his father with his head up his pompous ass, but not even five seconds later her whole world came crashing down and finally took its last breath.

"...I accept your offer and look forward to doing business with you Mr. Rochefort" Jin said while standing.

Everyone rose after him accept for Lili who was still too dead inside to even blink, and her father and the devil shook hands with each other before Jin's party left the room entirely. When the young girl was sure Jin and his posse were out of ear and eyeshot she took the chance to burst into tears, full blown wailing and the like. Sebastian rose from his seat to immediately comfort his young ward, but her father stopped him with the simple raise of his hand- halting the butler's actions quickly. Lili's father turned towards her and gave her one warning only to stop her sobbing before he made her, all with one look. But this was her future they were talking about, the person whom she would have to wake up with every morning and live with and sleep with and cook for and clean for and bear children with and have never-ending sex with. All these thoughts clouding her mind at once made her cry even more and she found herself unable to stop. The next thing she knew, she was falling out of the chair she sat in, crashing onto the carpeted floor in a heap of silk white linen and expensive material. Sebastian had to turn away as the cry of pain erupted from her lips and he had to mentally shut his ears off completely to keep himself from intervening and making the situation even worse. He had to watch as his ward struggled to scramble away from him once she saw him loosen up his tie and unbutton his cuff links, he wanted to say something- anything to possibly halt his assault but all was lost when he suddenly stood and descended upon her.

Unable to swallow the scene any further, Sebastian quietly excused himself and left the room promptly. Not even a tear made itself known on the face of the old man, but his heart shattered all the more for the girl who closely resembled her precious mother.

* * *

Jin and his party were quietly escorted out of the one of many Rochefort estates by one of the hand maids. She was quiet and didn't speak unless spoken to which led Jin to believe that her boss's persona outside of his elaborate mansion and inside of it were two vastly different people. To the outside world, Edward Rochefort was a kind and jolly man still struggling to get over the death of his late wife, Lilian Celeste, who was nothing but the splitting image of Emilie Rochefort, their only daughter. The people outside may see the one side of that man's face ,but Jin sees both and knows that the nicer one he's putting on up front is really a facade well placed and kept there for many years. In reality, he was actually a very controlling man. He could tell just by the way the maids and butler looked and acted, if he didn't see them beforehand he would've thought it was just Emilie, that butler that always follows her around, and her father just living in this too vast of a home with it just being the three of them. Yes. He knew a controlling man when he saw one, and his daughter was one fine example of what happened when that very same attribute trickled down to your offspring. The look on her face when they were speaking about her future as if it were nothing was proof enough of how much she opposed the deal, but what could she do? With her father holding all the cards and being the only real family the girl had left she had no choice but to bow her head and bite her tongue. Even more unfortunate for her, Jin felt sorry for her yes, but he wasn't sorry enough to really care. All he wanted was to improve Mishima Co. and if that meant getting a wife as well to take care of his personal and everyday needs then there was nothing else for him to care about or be concerned- her feelings be damned.

They all heard the muffled screams echoing about the place. Soft and muffled ,but still loud enough to travel and bounce off the empty walls. Something within Jin found the thought that just entered his mind rather unsettling and it reminded him of the times when he would wake at night to hear his parents arguing and his mother screaming as his father wrapped his hands around her throat. But that was all behind him now of course considering the fact he even walked into the same building his father was in everyday and the very fact he could even tolerate the man everyday was nothing less than extreme willpower and mental strength on his behalf.

Back to his observation of Emilie's father. Yes, the man was definitely a crafty thing and he knew how to hide it well. Jin only knew this because his own father was the exact same way and possibly for the same amount of time and he almost wondered if as a result his own daughter turned out maybe exactly like himself. Bitter till' the very end, somewhat corroding from the inside out, and maybe silently crying out for help. The only thing that separated Emilie from Jin was the simple fact that he was a male and she was a female and the fact that Jin did not grow up with his harsh father's influence for very long. Eventually, his mother got him out of that house and as a result forfeited her life. Emilie was a different case.

Her attitude when she was around her father (although Jin had only seen the two together in the same room one time) was something permanent because she was never pulled away from him. She grew up under her father's thumb and now her mother was no longer around (which was still a mystery all in itself). Jin had done enough research on the two to know what it was like inside their home when no one else was around and important eyes weren't watching, plus his father always kept tabs on those that was ever once a threat to his company or territory and Edward Rochefort happened to be one of those people (though he didn't pose much of a threat now). So he was very much aware of the fact that Edward Rochefort liked to harm his only daughter in every which way that he pleased, and for all the fighting skills Jin knew the petite blonde possessed not once did she ever raise a hand against him. That was the extent of Jin's knowledge ,but he knew his father knew more about the two and wouldn't divulge the information for what reason he would never know.

Nina led the three of them back to the stretch black limo, the whole while talking on her phone in an affirmative voice. She opened the door for Kazuya first, waiting for him to sit comfortably in his seat before closing the door and seating Jin next, and doing the same thing for him. Her and Eddy walked towards the front of the limo and sat themselves and gave the two powerful men privacy. As soon as all were seated calmly they pulled off and gravel met with tire in peaceful harmony, the Rochefort mansion fading rather slowly from Jin's view and along with it his thoughts of Emilie and her father.

* * *

A/N: I would like some reviews, even if it's just one to continue this story. This was an after thought on my to-do list in my head and I wanted to put it out there. If you like it, simply comment that you would like for me to keep posting chapters of this and I will :3


	2. Chapter 2

Manipulation

**Chapter 2**

Bandages were gently and robotically wrapped around her seemingly frail and easily breakable limbs and Lili couldn't help but search for anything mentally to take her away from the hell that was her harsh reality. The hand maids were use to her father's antics by now and no longer offered words of sympathy or care and the petite blonde was starting to figure that they silently blamed her for their abuse as well. The only reason they stayed though was of course for the fantastic pay. So now as expected, the gentle touch that use to come from the kind hand maids now turned into bandages that were wrapped so tightly they cut into her skin painfully and the ailment cream to be rubbed into her wounds were rubbed in too harshly. Every wince that would indicate her pain earned her a seemingly well deserved glare from one of the maid, as if her was more than theirs they almost seem to scream at her.

Maybe the transaction wasn't such a bad idea. As someone's wife there was no way Jin would allow her to continue to live with her father and may even prefer for her to live with him, or at the very least he permanently reside in the Rochefort mansion (but that was highly unlikely considering Jin hated her father). When the maids were done with her wounds, they left her room promptly without a word and took some of the partially bloodied towels with them. If they wanted to be overly cruel to her (and she assumed it just wasn't the day) they would leave the little mementos in her room for her to discard herself. Lili wondered why she hadn't threatened them yet. Threatened to tell her father that they were abusing her and knowing what that would do to his ego, have them severely punished or worse. She sighed as she realized the simple answer to that question was because they were all in the same boat as her anyway except she was a blood relative and they weren't. They all obeyed the beck and call of her father, they were all abused by him mentally, physically, and sexually and they were all under his thumb for as long as they stayed within close proximity of the ruthless man and his reach was very far.

So even if she did voice their wrong-doings to her father it wouldn't matter because it wasn't any real justice, just a retaliation from someone who felt offended when others abused and used their toys and they weren't meant to.

A click brought Lili out of her thoughts and she snapped her head up towards her room door and calmed when she saw Sebastian enter and shut the door softly behind him. A piece of her was somehow upset with him for not intervening with her father and protecting her from his insatiable wrath, but the more logical part of her couldn't blame the loyal butler for something he could not control. The pain in his eyes as he looked at her bandaged body was tribute enough to her.

He bowed low before speaking to the young girl, inwardly wincing when he saw the bandaged strip over her eye and felt crushed. "I came to check on you, miss"

Her bright blue eyes narrowed sharply. "Well you've checked on me. Did you come to see me in my...pitiful state?"

"That's not fair" he grumbled softly to her. "you don't think it doesn't shame me enough to watch Master Edward do onto you what he would constantly do to your mother?"

That shut her up. Lili still had memories of the days where her father would have her mother dress her finest and look her best (and her mother's best was sincerely soul-catching) just to have her smacked down to his feet. Apparently, her father was highly intimidated by powerful women and her mother happened to be one of those women. The idea terrified him that at any moment Lilian could leave him and either find herself another, better, and possibly taller husband or just as likely stand on her two feet like the proud woman she was. Fortunately for him, her mother had one fatal flaw that kept her anchored to the furious man and that was her weak emotional heart. The moment she told a much younger Lili she had laid eyes on Edward was the moment she fell in love, and even then she knew by the cruel look in his cobalt eyes that the kind of love she was looking for would never exist in someone like him. She thought she could change him.

Sebastian was there when Lilian died, and he knew that Lili knew that. There wasn't one day in his life of working two generations worth for the Celeste's that he wondered why Lili wouldn't ask about her mother. All she would have to do is simply ask Sebastian what happened and he would tell her everything in full detail. Edward didn't know that he was present when Lili's mother died and the kind butler didn't intend for the man to find out any time soon either. It was easy enough to keep his own secrets simply because he had become somewhat of a vault for secrets others would tell him, some of those private tellings were even from Lilian herself and he vowed not to tell a soul. And he didn't.

However, if it was her only daughter asking then he would hold back nothing from her. The only thing he was worried about was Lili hadn't breathed a word of her mother to him, as close as she seemed to be to her (or the thought of her). He could still remember the day her father had a painted mural of Lilian put above the front mantle in the main living room of the mansion and he caught Lili standing in front of it just staring at it in awe.

"Despite what my father has done to me and everyone else of this house, I would still mind if he didn't force me into the marriage with Jin" her voice cracked slightly but she didn't care, to hell with her pride...her whole life and it's walls were falling down around her. "After all I've done for him. I've had my bones broken for him countless of times where I would fight in his name and health and went against Jin and the whole goddamn world and this is how he repays me...by giving me to the same person that inadvertently caused him to have a stroke"

He could see how close the young blonde was to crying and he went against his carnal desires to console her...sometimes she just looked too much like her beautiful mother. He opened his mouth to say something, anything to give her at least a false sense of security but she cut him off before he could utter anything more.

"Sometimes I wish he would die, and that way all of my hard work wouldn't be for nothing. Apparently that's exactly what I am to him, absolutely nothing" she said with a soft groan.

He took two steps towards Lili, being thrown back in time to when Lilian said those exact same words to him and he was a lot younger and his skin much tighter around his bones. She sat in Lili's place, wearing her night dress with hot tears running down her face and her love for Edward starting to wilt away as he left the mansion that night for someone older and more experienced.

"You don't mean that" Sebastian found himself saying. "He's all you have left and without him you have no one" he said gently.

Both women—well one was still a girl, hardly on the rise of yet being nineteen and her mother at this time being only twenty-five, rose their stricken heads and smiled gently.

"At least I have you Sebastian" Lili had told him.

His heart panned with a familiar ache at her words, her mother being the first one to say those words to him and him being the first to touch her mother the way Lili's father should've that night.

The loyal butler closed his eyes in memory and turned away from Lili slightly. "Even that you don't have Miss"

Lili frowned and threw him an incredulous look. Was he seriously abandoning her when she could use someone to support her at this moment? He was no better than her father. Her lips went thin and straight and a pain like no other etched across her face that Sebastian couldn't stand to look at, so on that account, he left her alone and in silence.

* * *

Dark orbs met black surface and a pain filled grown followed soon after. Jin had fallen asleep in an exhausted heap in his office again and inwardly he was scolding himself for being too caught up in work not to notice his lulling head and drifting eyes.

The emptiness of the whole building crushed down on the man's shoulders as he looked around and saw no one in yet. Looking at the clock sitting not too far from him, he realized no one would be in at the ungodly hour of 5:45am.

Except his father of course. He grimaced at the thought of being in the same vicinity as Kazuya as of the moment after the ear full he got in the long limo ride back to Mishima Co. about completely draining what was left of the reserves on something the haggard and steroid induced decrepit man thought of as "unnecessary". Jin could only roll his eyes, pretty much being forced to keep his trap shut considering the fact he stuck his own foot in his mouth. He did drain the reserves, and now Mishima Co. was running purely on the back pockets of his father and himself alone, and the two hadn't realized just how expensive the very place itself really was until they were the ones that had to keep it alive. So of course after realizing this fact after it had been oh so cleverly hidden from him right in front of his eyes, the very fact invoked such a wrath out of Kazuya Jin was sure they would eventually have to pull over next to an open area and fight it out right there and then.

Luckily for the both of them, that never happened. But the rest of the staff at Mishima Co. felt the full brunt of Kazuya's attitude, most walking out of his office with a grunt and muttering ill fated words on the man's head. Jin's employees could only thank their lucky stars that their boss had no such mood swings, but figured that he was the root of the problem considering the fact Kazuya would give him the evil eye whenever they happened to cross paths.

There was already a rumor going around that the infamous company wasn't doing too well and that the two heads were planning to lean on the Rochefort company for financial support. Jin wasn't one for confirming nor denying business related rumors in the offices ,but if it were ever a problem and began to interfere with the work of his employees he would fire them on the spot. He was merciless and wanted the absolute best. Kazuya's side of the nest was almost cold and unbearable, he hardly tolerated idle chatter between employees let alone breaks...they might as well be slaves. The only thing he had above Jin was the fact that he paid his workers well (Jin was a bit of a tight wad and found any excuse in the book to shave off a couple hundred dollars off of someone's paycheck) and knew he was working his people like dogs and quite often rewarded them for their hard work.

All in all, the balance between the two quite often made working underneath pleasurable or absolutely miserable, either way, most of their workers were incredibly loyal and very few left even though they could clearly see that their company was failing.

Jin stood from his work desk and headed towards his own personal break room for coffee. Once he got there though, he realized that the coffee that he possessed tasted terrible but gave him a rather impressive boost of energy, but the one in the public break room however...tasted way better. He mulled over his options before his right ear twitched because of a shuffle and he found himself turning around. Realizing it was no one else other than his vicious co-head, the dark haired man narrowed his eyes in annoyance before returning his attention to whether he should get the nasty coffee and be up for the next five hours or get the better tasting one and be asleep for the next ten years.

Kazuya took in the sight of the casual dressed Jin and mentally clucked his tongue at his slightly torn black jeans and dark button up to still appear business-like, not to mention the fact that he was wearing tim's. The elder man shook his head, there was so much for the younger version of himself to learn. But he didn't suddenly appear in Jin's office for nothing, it was all business as usual and it involved the rest of his life with the tall model-like blonde heir of the Rochefort business. It didn't seem like business to Kazuya but in reality it very much was so, the future of the business depended on this whole marriage and he would have to do everything in his own power as well to preserve such a trivial thing such as being tied down to one person, he also knew that the very idea disturbed his son as well.

"Married to a witty seventeen year old who has been on the prowl for you in the name of her father only to be sold off as a bargaining chip by the very person she set put to save. Her father almost sounds like—

"You." Jin cut in rudely.

A fury like no other flew across Kazuya's face, scrunching up his features into something terrifyingly ugly. "I was going to say your mother"

A satisfying smirk could be seen on the elder man's face as he witnessed the pulsing of Jin's outstretched vein across his jugular and forehead, a sheer sign of his anger. The mere mention of Rochefort being compared to himself made him say something that he would've avoided saying had he not been agitated as he was. No one knew that Kazuya Mishima liked to compare himself to a wasp's nest, once you messed with it, there was no stopping the onslaught of agony those multiple stings would bestow.

"As I was saying," Kazuya said while narrowing his eyes at a steaming Jin, "how do you intend to handle her, the girl I mean"

He crossed his arms and the man in front of him scratched his forehead in a frustrated gesture. "You ask that question as if she could pose a problem to us or this company"

"The reason some of these renegades as you call them get under our multiple layers of protection is because you overlook the ones that could really pose a threat. Your half only looks for really imposing enemies that more than likely could mean nothing, but the ones that could do some real damage to us are permitted to slide through because they aren't taken seriously. Rochefort's daughter was one of those people...you remember"

Jin hadn't forgotten. He was somewhere in the Middle East recovering from his wounds after his showdown with Azazel and had no idea where he was or really who he was other than the fact that he had been extremely hungry and tired. He was stranded in a city that was half buried by sand and as a result became a ghost town, there was no one around he could lean on for help and to the extent of his knowledge there wasn't another nearby city for miles. His only hope was the half sunken cathedral drowning in the sea of sand maybe a hundred yards away from him.

He approached it cautiously, not knowing what was inside and took the chance to observe for any movement before stepping inside the unknown building. From what he could see from the outside, the very top of the cathedral's roofing was eroded and destroyed. He was disappointed to say the least that he would be getting no shelter away from the oppressive heat that beat down on his back and made his already painfully tanned and naked back sweat, his pants even threatened to fall from all the perspiration that was trapped at his waist. Without pondering his decision any further, Jin started his way in when a hard blow to his back sent him sailing through the very wall of the place, a painfully ache shooting throughout his entire body.

His body tossed, rolled, and stumbled through concrete and crumbs of cement as he laid sprawled against a broken down monument of something that use to be there but was no longer. Groaning softly, his vision focused up at his assailant who knew no bounds when it came to her enemies. Soft white lace, knee high boots with red accents, and striking blue eyes that could bestow a cruelty he wouldn't know of from someone as young as herself.

A gentle half smile and a playful look. "You're not as tough as you look"

Jin grimaced at the memory to Kazuya's amusement. "That would never happen again. I was weak at the time and could barely figure out how to fight let alone defend myself after the battle with Azazel"

"Excuses." Kazuya said with a dismissive gesture. "My point is to not underestimate that thorn of a girl because of your meager pride. I'm sure you don't want to remind me of myself within you with your rather senseless actions"

A banging fist and a surge of fury connected with Jin's desk and Kazuya didn't even bat an eyelash. "Then what do you suggest I do oh-wise-one?!" He roared at the elder man. "It's already degrading enough to be shackled to a girl who's barely into womanhood and who bested me one time, once, in a fight I can hardly recall not to mention she had the help of that tyrant of a man whom I can't seem to find and you have the nerve to judge me...I don't know which is more frustrating"

He crossed his arms in an attempt to quell his urges of wanting to fight with his father right then and there and had to calm himself down even more so when his eyes met with his father's amused ones.

"I've said all I've needed to say to you. Just don't make the mistake of costing us the very thing that keeps us whole"

With that, Kazuya left Jin's office feeling quite satisfied with himself and returned to his own domain of Mishima Cooperation.

* * *

A/N: I do apologize for the long wait for those who were waiting on this next installment :3 I didn't mean for this to really be that much on the wait but being the girl that I am *sigh* I can get in trouble for stupid stuff and get my stuff taken. If it wasn't for that then this would've been out much sooner lmao.

Happy Reading guys!, Sasusakui


	3. Chapter 3

Deceitful Gestures

**Chapter 3**

Lili had never felt more alone in the world then right at that moment. After hearing the words Sebastian said to her and watching him walk out of her bedroom with not even a glance back, the clicking sound of her door added a finality that she really wasn't ready for. Salty tears dripped down her face and the next thing she knew she had been in her room for at least two days, not once had she shown her face to her father or Sebastian and she would rather it stay that way.

Her hair was sprawled across her multiple pillows and her whole face was beet red from all the crying and stressful groans she kept making. What grabbed her attention was the loud and expensive doorbell to her home ringing and a rather impressively loud banging on the front double doors. She waited a couple moments, listening intently and stopping her heavy breathing to see if a maid or maybe Sebastian would open the door for the stranger...but no one did.

When the racket continued she groaned rather loudly and stopped all the way down the spiral staircase, past the completely empty and massive kitchen, down the main hall, and across the large mantle of her mother , and eventually in front of the double doors leading into her home. She opened the large door with as much strength as she could muster and narrowed her eyes at the intruder.

"What?!" She practically growled.

* * *

Dark shades peered down and into the icy blue eyes of the Rochefort heir and then he saw a change. They paused, widened a little and her small mouth did a shape of a small 'o' and her whole demeanor seemed to collapse into itself as she leaned on the door for more support perhaps.

The shades he was wearing were so dark that she struggled to peer into them to find his eyes, but it was a fruitless search, he could see inside her soul and she would never be able to return the favor for as long as he had the accessory on.

He gazed at her momentarily, noting her red-streaked face and the bruises under her eyes and the matching ones on her arms and across her chest, then raising his eyebrows lightly at her attire, a strapless dress that was nearly all see-through except for the area that snuggled her breasts together enticingly (those he also noticed had bruises across them, especially between them and in most likely crevices he couldn't see, those marks were a soft red and slightly puckered), her golden tresses were messy and her bangs were uneven, even her feet were bare.

Jin in the flesh was looking at her in her most venerable state and she couldn't help but seem to cower under his scrutinizing even though she couldn't exactly see him staring at her, but she did feel him doing it.

"My father isn't here" she told him almost dismissively. She went to shut the door but his foot didn't allow it.

"I didn't come here for your father" he told her.

She cut her eyes away from his face and backed away from the door frame, allowing enough room for him to walk in, which he did. Lili shut the door behind him and walked in front of him to another area of the living room, off to side of the mantle, where up above Jin noticed the giant painting for the first time. He never noticed it until he found himself halting all of his thoughts just to gaze at the mural.

The woman sitting with her hands in her lap seemed absolutely calm and serene, gentle and lady-like with kind eyes, the perfect mother figure no doubt. Her blonde hair and soft side bang flowed down her back and seemed to go on forever and the small smirk she had almost made Jin's heart skip a beat (something that was foreign to the always serious man), her almost icy silver eyes seemed to tell a different story...a sad story.

His eyes snapped down as Lili stood in front of him, looking from him slowly and to the painting on the wall. She had a steaming cup of tea on a small tray for him but that didn't seem to register in her mind as her eyes seemed to lower at the sight of her mother holding the brooding man's attention.

The younger blonde female set the small tray down on a table off to the side and turned her attention back to the silent man who seemed almost...embarrassed to be caught staring at the mural. "I see my mother has once again stolen the show" she said with a slight smile.

Jin glanced at the picture one last time and sweeped his gaze all around the room except at Lili who was staring right at him. "Lilian Celeste. My father met her once...disastrous" Jin muttered.

Lili tilted her head to the side like a puppy, a question rising on her lips. "I had no idea..." Her lips pursed in thought before her mouth set in a straight line. "Then again my father never tells me anything anymore..."

She set off walking with the intention of Jin following after her, which he did but not without giving the beautiful painting one last glance before letting his eyes travel down her slender back and to her slightly exposed backside that was only covered with white panties. She really walked around the house like that? He wondered to himself.

Lili could feel holes burning through her back and knew Jin was staring once again. She didn't mind all too much, somewhere in the back of her mind she knew he had looked intensely at the bruises her father left behind and that made her feel more embarrassed than him ever seeing her half naked. She would prefer that over her father's atrocities being on full display any day.

The two passed by the massive kitchen once again, Jin not surprised by any of its grandness considering his was if not the same size larger. They ascended the spiral staircase all the way up to her room (which was much too large for her he was sure) and she walked in and he followed behind her, inwardly frowning when he realized the only reason he would ever walk into a woman's bedroom would be for one thing.

He left the door open and sat down on the small chair sitting plainly in front of her massive white laced canopy as she padded her way into her bathroom to get a hairbrush. He cleared his throat as he watched when she exited and sat in front of the mirror in front of him. She grabbed pieces of her hair as if it would just fall out if she tugged on it in the slightest and soon her messy bed head turned into a pretty golden curtain falling around her shoulders and she cut her bangs straight across her forehead with a certain perfection that Jin couldn't possibly hope to achieve.

"So...I know you didn't just come here to stare at my late mother above our fireplace" she spoke aloud.

He watched her momentarily before returning his attention back to his thoughts and memories of a year ago. The baking sun and that ghost town, the fallen cathedral and her sudden appearance, the kick that she threw that sent him sailing clear through the wall and then that red-headed monkey making a sudden appearance and forcing him to...turn. He clenched a fist tightly on the armrest of her chair at the memory and his eyes narrowed at the back of her head. The thought of her ever defeating him in a fight brought out a rage in him that he didn't think possible in terms of her and he found himself slamming a fist down over her shoulder and on the surface of her small desk with the mirror attached to it.

He stood over her almost possessively and he gazed at her reflection in the mirror as she remained seated in the plush chair in front of the desk. She stared at him silently, not blinking and looking at his face tentatively and vaguely wondering what had him so angry in that short amount of time. From the way his jaw was slightly twitching gave Lili the indication that whatever he was mad about, she was the cause, and whatever it was it deeply bothered him. She wanted to smirk so badly.

He put his other hand softly on the surface of the desk over her left shoulder and he leaned lower to where his chest was almost touching the top of her head. He asked his question slow and deliberate and Lili knew that if she answered wrong he would possibly gut her right then and there in her very own room and won't think twice about it.

"How did you find me?" He nearly growled out. "In that barren desert with nothing around for miles...you attacked me out of nowhere"

In a flash it seemed, she had turned around in her chair to face him and spread her legs so that they bordered his. Her head tilted back and her bruised skin was fully on display for him now and her equally bruised lips pursed up at him in thought. Her hair now cascaded over his fingers which were still firmly planted behind her and every single strand felt like silk to him. Jin found himself swallowing slowly.

"You say that as if I attacked you for no reason" she cut her eyes away from him before returning her gaze back on his half covered face, still seeing nothing behind those dark shades of his. "I hope you understand that I had every intention of killing you back then...maybe I still do"

*Thump*

He scoffed. "You still haven't answered my question"

She rolled her eyes almost playfully and Jin had to suppress the urge of wrapping his hands around her throat. "Raven was very helpful"

His eyes narrowed further. He was sure after he regained his memory that no one knew he was alive other than his father who knew deep down that his son was never really dead to begin with.

"If he's paid enough, Raven can be useful. So there's no doubt I nearly blew his mind with my offers and he doesn't particularly like you either so he was almost more than willing to tell me where he last saw you. After that...I had an old friend of mine help me get there who owed me a favor and there you were. All lost and unsuspecting..." She blinked up at him and he could feel his annoyance fluctuate.

*Thump Thump*

He gritted his teeth at her and then snatched away from his presence, storming out of her room in a wind of fury and stomping his way all the way down her stairs and out the front doors, being sure to slam them both extra hard.

Lili finally flinched when the loud clap of noise bounced off the walls of the house and painfully echoed between her ears. Her cheeks flooded with heat as she put a shaky hand up onto her forehead and laughter started to erupt somewhere from her throat. She chuckled behind her tightly pinned lips and covered them with her hand, eventually she couldn't hold it any longer and fell faint against her table behind her. Lazily, she draped her arm across the length of her forehead and let out an exasperated sigh. Oh how amusing Jin Kazama really was.

* * *

Jin clutched at his erratic beating heart and narrowed his eyes even further. He went to her home to confront her personally and he still hadn't really gotten the answers out of her that he wanted, all because he seemed to be distracted for some reason. Flashes of pieces of her body flew through his head as he seemed to subconsciously memorize every detail about her without even knowing it.

The way her hair felt as it seeped through his fingers, the way her pouty mouth opened a little when she stared up at him, the soft curves and arches of her lower back and plump cheeks as they poked out from her thin white panties, her creamy thighs as they spread for him, the way she playfully smiled up at him and pleasantly told him she wanted to kill him, and just they way she gazed up at him...

He was pissed to say the least and he would have to admit through gritted teeth that he was attracted to the young girl and it was clear to see where she got her enticing looks from. Her mother was stunning enough to catch his eye and he would even admit that she would be the woman he would consider to marry, but he was stuck with her daughter who had the personality of someone that could cause him to put a bullet through his own head.

He didn't take the family limo to her mansion this time and got into his own vehicle. A simply but fairly efficient midnight black escalade that was also black on the inside. Stepping on the pedal violently, he burned rubber as he sped down her driveway and through her silver gates and passing by the giant field of pure white and orange lilies. He shook his head at the sight and tightened his jaw, gazing absentmindedly at the flying petals on the wind as it carried them across his windshield.

"I didn't know you started taking an interest in her already" Kazuya said in an amused tone as he popped grapes in his mouth.

Jin glared at him, inwardly wishing he'd choke on one. "I'm not interested in that nuisance of a girl. I only went to question her about how she found me in the desert, it should've been virtually impossible considering everyone thought I was dead. Apparently Raven gave her a tip and that was how she was able to find me"

Kazuya laughed loudly, clearly tickled by the fact his high and mighty son let his soon to be wife get under his skin so quickly and efficiently. He could tell by the way Jin was leaning against the doorframe to his office with his arms angrily crossed and his slightly red face. There was nothing Jin could hide from him when it came to his emotions. To his father, he was an open book with his heart on his sleeve, to others, he was a silent brooding man who had no emotions.

But something in what Jin said to him struck his interest. The mention of the elusive Raven made Kazuya remember a time when he one time offered the man a proposition and he turned it down. It included something along the lines of working for him and he won't be killed and the next thing Kazuya knew, he had disappeared from sight and has been impossible to find ever since then. The fact that the Rochefort heir of all people was able to grasp the ninja's attention was an impressive feat upon itself, there was also the fact that Raven despised him and Jin all the same.

"Crafty like her father, and ambitious like him too. She would be a nice asset to this—

The company was not up for discussion. If anything his arranged marriage and his piece of the business would be two very separate things, he would never mix the two. He would stop his father's maniac idea right at the bud. Mishima Co. was like Jin's zen just like Lili's possessions were at one time her zen, he didn't want to share it with anyone, especially someone like the Rochefort heir who would more than likely sink her fangs into it and drain it of life simply to piss Jin off. He almost wondered if it got her off just to see him of all people in frustration or pain.

"No." Jin said with a finality that even Kazuya knew he wouldn't be able to sway. "Getting married to her is unfortunate enough..." Jin muttered.

* * *

Lili stood in front of her father and Sebastian as if she were on trial. She looked back and forth between them uncertainly and then averted her gaze to her feet that were occupied by white heels at the moment. She changed from her skimpy sleep ware to a plan white dress with thick straps that hardly left any skin on her shoulders visible, the hemline was barely passing her collarbones, and the whole dress itself stopped abruptly above her knees. The whole ensemble still didn't stop her father from leering at her with a look that someone who was related to him should've never known.

Her blonde hair was in the popular 80's style. A thick white headband sat at the front of her head and her bangs were pleasantly rolled back into a nice pompadour. Opal pearls sat in her ears and around her slender neck, the bruises that were once there covered away by her favorite concealer.

"So, your talk with Jin...went well I presume" her father asked her simply.

Lili's eyes swooped across the room before meeting her father's for the first time the whole interrogation. "I attempted to subtly seduce him if that's what you're asking" then her eyes flickered away just as fast. "But the man has a will of steal, surely you know this"

Her father made a disgruntled noise and she sunk even further into herself. Not that he would ever know, to the both of them (Sebastian and Edward) she appeared a bit bored, and not in the slightest peaked in interest, but inside she was tearing herself apart. She involuntarily flinched when Edward raised his hand to scratch at his beard and sighed in relief when her mind (in a rather delayed and slowed movement) figured out his true intentions and preferred the dark look he gave her to the hardness of his hand. All the same, she fixed her tone when speaking to him after she realized it was her tone that upset him.

"Strong will be damned, he is still a man. And all men have needs no matter how strong their mind is and how deep their ambitions go. Surely, you must know that Emilie" her father almost purred.

Said girl turned her head in an almost disdained fashion and swallowed, allowing the shiver to crawl up her back in a leisurely pace. Her clammy hands started to fidget (a habit foreign to her unless she happened to be in the presence of her tyrant of a father) and they clutched at each other in an attempt to calm their host, and she couldn't stop the light tears from falling silently. Her eyes widened more and more every passing second and she could almost hear him licking his lips at the doe like expression.

She didn't dare look at Sebastian, the traitor because she knew what she would find—his heart breaking for her. How dare he?! How dare he still weep for her when he threw her to the wolves (wolf—there was only one and he was big and bad and all knowing and powerful, refusing to be stopped) without even a glance behind him? But that was exactly what she should've expected from Sebastian because little did she know, the kind of sympathy she was looking for in him would never be found. It just sucked that he didn't show his true colors until it was the most crucial point of her life.

"Sebastian..." Edward called to him.

The once loyal butler looked to his master and recognized the same mechanisms and the same gestures. It was like being thrown back in time where Lilian was standing in front of the both of them instead of Lili and the same expression was on her face. A mixture of depression and deep loathing, except with her mother, a touch of slight heat was embedded in the corner of her eyes and etched itself out into the shakiness of her fingertips: furious anticipation. She was a case of Stockholm syndrome that he had fallen in love with on first sight. He couldn't fathom how she had fallen so hard and so fast for Edward, but he had gotten his piece when he needed to...and he would never regret that one night between them for as long as he lived.

"Yes sir" he answered.

His gestures, they were all the same. Loosening his tie, the cuff links forgotten, and his over coat thrown to the side rather abruptly. "My daughter and I must speak on private matters. I must teach her the ways in which to resist a man that clearly wants to take advantage of her"

Sebastian could do nothing but once again turn away from the atrocity that became his master and simply nod his head, once again leaving his young ward to her father. His gloved hand softly touched the door to leave and he walked through and slowly closed it behind him, all the while avoiding the piercing gaze that Lili's striking blue eyes gave him as he disappeared into the depths of the mansion.

* * *

A/N: Greetings my lovely readers!

I apologize for the wait but I kinda wanted to make this longer and maybe, a little more in depth ? And that's what I tried to do here. If this wasn't to your liking then...o.O i don't know what to tell ya. Hopefully it'll get better then?


	4. Chapter 4

SPD-Split Personality Disorder

**Chapter 4**

"I want to kill you"

Her eyes told a completely different story, not to mention her body language. Everything she did was minor or majorly suggestive. The way she looked at him: lashes and the whole bit looking up at him as if she were the purest female of them all and desired by all and the cruel thing knew it too. She dressed the way she did purely to attract him and when she talked he would get glimpses into her mouth where her tongue would curl in the lewdest fashion, and give him the wildest of fantasies all at one time. Just like now, as she sat cross-legged on his bed in something see through and white (why was it always white?) and looking at him with that same knowing look. As if she were a predator that was waiting for her prey to calmly fall into her trap.

He approached her almost cautiously as if his analogy was actually true and brushed a slightly calloused hand along the very top of her shoulder and stopped his trail right above her elbow. A shiver ran up and down his spine as he observed that her skin was just as smooth as he imagined it would be, and was as creamy as it was up close than far away. He seized his opportunity and grabbed a handful of her silky hair and he found her closing her eyes in bliss as he unconsciously rubbed circles into her scalp. Blue eyes met onyx as they edged closer to each other, noses touching, and finally lips. It started soft and then grew rougher, then painful. They both hungered for something only the other could give. Between gasps for air, he found himself saying things he thought he would never say, and she told him things his ears would never forget. Both knew that at this moment in time, they were binding each other to secrecy and modesty and only to each other would they reveal more.

"Kill me" he repeated her earlier. "you would like that wouldn't you?"

His mouth was searching, searching for her's and he could feel her smiling in glee somewhere near him. "I won't allow you to be killed by anyone else. Your life is mine, you belong to me"

Blonde hair pooled onto his black satin sheets and more of it pooled when he tilted her head back by slightly tugging on her golden tresses. His hand started at the middle of her chest and grazed along her cleavage before eventually wrapping around her throat. Oxygen slightly leaving her, he got the reaction he was looking for as a violent shiver ran up and down her spine. His lips crushed against hers and he tasted blood on her teeth as she grunted slightly at the stinging pain. Engraving his thumb print in the little dip on her throat, he shivered again as she made a little croaking noise in his mouth. He suckled away all the droplets of blood from around her gums and tongue, rolling his eyes back slightly and moaning into their kiss.

Her hands grazed along his jawline and she dug her nails into his flesh, drawing blood from him as well and smirking as she returned the favor. He loosened his grip on her once he felt her losing the fervor she once had and she sighed in relief, her warm breath spreading into his like a soft cloud. He took the reins of the kiss and lowered her back flat underneath him, her legs parting to receive the width of his upper body. They continued to frantically kiss each other passionately, tearing at the other's clothing until it was no more and all obstacles were out of the way.

She wound her hands over his bare chest and he shivered at how cold they were and then she drew away from his lips and bit into his neck painfully, a painful groan coming from his mouth at the feeling. He could feel the wetness of her tongue as she ran it over the little wound she made as if to soothe it. Then her mouth began to move against his flesh, forming words he couldn't necessarily hear unless he concentrated.

"As fun as this is," she met his eyes for the final time that night. "you have to wake up at some point, husband of mine"

And awaken he did.

Dark eyes shot open from underneath his forearm and Jin found himself groaning loudly at the ringing occurring in his head. There was no doubt in his mind that if the sound continued he would soon have a headache worse than any other hangover he's ever had in his life. Ripping his satin sheets away from his lower body, he all but jumped out of his bed, and shivered at the contact of his feet meeting the chilly dark wood floors. The ringing between his ears continued as he made his way towards his massive bathroom, not a bright color to be seen except for the bright right porcelain tub that could hold fifty people, and in front of his mirror did he stop to look at himself. He looked almost haggard, as if someone stole life from him. His pallor was considerably noticeable to himself than it would be to other people, he had always been pale, but this was verging on sickly almost. He clenched and unclenched his fists and knew his strength was still there and his muscle weight was completely normal, it was just his appearance that dawned on him the most. It made no sense.

He drew up his hand to the right side of his neck and scratched at it absent-mindedly. The texture on his usually smooth skin brought his eyes back up to the mirror that showed a bruise there. Purple and red almost popping right at him with its brightness. It closely resembled a hickey almost, but it was aggressive and noticeable. Jin was shocked to see it there to say the least and could do nothing but stare at the mark and touch it absently.

* * *

Walking into the office on a brisk cold morning—slightly late, but not so much so that his employers were fumbling around wondering what to do with themselves. Kazuya Mishima walked through the halls of his side of Mishima Co. and he looked and breathed money and wealth with a spice of prestige. It was also a given that the man was not a morning person whatsoever, although he took adequate time in his schedule to sleep, he just wasn't a fan of waking up early and more than often slept late into the afternoon on weekends.

He wore the latest fashions and kept his appearance around other people clean and if not perfect, pretty damn close. Louis Vuitton shoes of alligator material and matching the slate gray color of the carpet he walked in, Calvin Klein slate gray suit with a white undershirt and stormy blue tie to accentuate the whole ensemble, and lastly a Michael Kore silver watch with blue accents. His whole everyday business outfit was way over the budget of most professional musicians around and yet he seemed to always keep money in his pockets even after the recession hit everyone pretty hard, and the celebs were no strangers either.

It was no secret that his son, Jin, was the more favored out of the two C.E.O's and that was mostly because his son was a lot '_nicer_' or more pleasant to be around if they really wanted to get down to it. Mishima pushed his employers to the brink and sometimes, more often than not, got angry at them for no reason or just plain had an attitude. But as far as the business rumors going around amongst the women about which of the two was the better looking...Kazuya would be the first to underhandedly say that he was the one, while Jin would simply claim he's not interested whatsoever (knowing full well that if he ever found out it was his father, his pride would take a serious blow). What they both didn't know is that it's a complete and utter tie and that the both of them get the same amount of drools when they passed by.

Brave souls who saw their boss exit out the main elevator and onto the top floor went out to greet him, only to receive the cold chill that was Kazuya as he didn't reply and kept walking. If it wasn't for the awful glares he would send their way for speaking to him at such an ungodly hour (because 8:00am is too early for someone like Mishima) than no one at all would know they were even being acknowledged by the man. Even still, he forever captured the hearts of the females swooning over just the scent of his cologne as he walked casually to his office.

Once the Co-head of Mishima Co. made it to his office on the far right side of the building, he closed the door behind himself and blocked the rest of the business world out. The sound of clicking keyboards, tired murmurs, and the low sizzle of coffee being made irked him into even more of a foul mood and he found the scowl on his face unable to go away. No one would've ever guessed that the infamous Kazuya hated business with a passion, and he hated cubicles and offices just like his own even more. His whole family line had a very strong affinity for knowledge and wisdom which was helpful in the business world, but he just didn't find himself hungry with greed like he use to be. A sense of purpose was missing within him and he could feel the deep hole in his chest grow wider and wider every time he walked in through the double doors of the tall building.

Kazuya would never admit to anyone that he didn't want the throne of power anymore. Maybe not even to himself, but he wasn't a huge fan of lying, especially to himself-he despised that the most. It was easy running the company, almost like he was counting on his fingers, it was just tiresome and bland. There was no excitement walking into this hellhole of a building where dreams were crushed and sometimes lives lost, or being responsible for the loss. Yes, Mishima couldn't do this anymore. It would probably kill him if he went on like this.

His thoughts were interrupted when a polite knock was placed on his door. Head shooting up from the surface of his desk, Kazuya cleared his throat before speaking with full authority.

"Enter!" he commanded.

His door swung open to reveal Anna, his secretary, whom he glared at because she had a desk all to herself where there was a phone she could use to call him if need be. The fact she was standing there (in more than inappropriate clothing to walk around in on his side of the building) in his doorway angered him considering the fact that she also accepted calls from customers as well, which lead back to the question of why she wasn't where she was suppose to be. He saw her eyes narrow when he gave her an up-and-down look with one once over with his eyes and no where on her body did his dark eyes linger, not once. She tried really hard this time too as it seemed. He couldn't understand why she kept going out of her way to impress him when he made it clear to her on multiple occasions (rather bluntly too), that he simply wasn't interested. On and on she kept trying, so he let her until the day he was waiting for where she would give up and try no more.

Her blood red business skirt rode high up her thighs that were accentuated with floral black fishnets, she didn't wear an undershirt whatsoever to modestly cover up the obscene cleavage she showed, and her make-up (although not out of place whatsoever) was put on quite heavy. Kazuya found himself sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose at the sight, how many times did he have to tell her to stop dressing like that? It was only his attention she was trying to catch, but it drew the other men in the office away from their work and if that happened he lost money and there was nothing he hated more. He wondered why he hadn't fired her already, and then he remembered...it was because aside from her sister Nina (who Jin had as an assistant) she was the best assassin in the business at the moment.

"Anna..." he trailed slowly. "Must I repeat myself more than one time?"

Annoyance clearly laced along his tired sounding words, Anna decided to trail very carefully, figuring he simply wasn't in the mood for her shenanigans and even went as far as buttoning the business jacket she wore up to a point that modestly covered the most of her bountiful chest. Once she was finished, Kazuya nodded his head in approval and found it easier to look at her face now that the distraction was gone.

"Now what was so important that you had to come into my office to tell me?" he questioned lazily.

With the mention of the subject she had yet to breach with him, her face quickly turned sour. At the sight of her changed expression, Kazuya grew curious at what she had to say, whatever it was deeply disturbed her and there were few things that did.

The memory of what she saw hit her at full force before she opened her mouth to tell Kazuya the news. She wasn't at the meeting at the Rochefort mansion so she had no idea that Kazuya already had a hunch about what frequently happened between the Rochefort heir and her despicable father. "I came to tell you something important, something about Jin's...future fiance" she paused trying to gather her words. "she's damaged goods, that's the nicest way I can put it" she told him bluntly.

Kazuya's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Damaged goods? "Elaborate" he commanded.

Anna shifted from one foot to the other awkwardly. She was hoping that he didn't ask her to tell in detail what made her think the Rochefort heir was damaged product, but now she had to figure out a way to modestly put what she saw into words. "Her father..." she paused and sighed. "he's disgusting...we now know why he never re-married to another woman and that's because he uses his daughter as a replacement for his dead wife. They do look very much alike"

A sour taste seemed to erupt in Kazuya's throat and on top of his tongue. He always had a hunch that Edward Rochefort was man that liked to use his fists and hands when he was angry at the simplest things, but he never considered...

He thought of how heart-broken her mother Lilian would be if she were still alive and before he knew it Kazuya was drawing up an image of her from his distant memory. To the time when she invited him to her home and they had met for the first time.

* * *

Lilian's family line, The Celeste's, were very old and very wealthy. As the sole heir to the ridiculous amount of money that rivaled even his own family line's, it was spread around that she was looking to invest in a new company to further increase the fortune of her own business (which was at the time heavily tied in with drugs of all kinds and her business was so large that no type of government could hope to shut it all down), mainly for the protection of it rather than the money she knew it would provide for her.

There was a large get together in her home for the sole purpose of her fishing in the pond of the business world. She invited representative upon representative, and owner after owner into her mansion along the coasts of Japan. Kazuya, who was the sole owner of Mishima Co. at the time, was among one of the many CEO's whom been invited to the special occasion. He was familiar with her "_work_" and knew at some point in time they would eventually clash because they both dealt with the same crowd of people and high positioned circles, eventually growing into a battle of territory.

And a battle it was. She would cleverly snatch his partners from right under his feet and he would return the favor whenever he got the chance, but they had never met on any sort of grounds.

Kazuya was a sensible man at this point in time, and too clever for anyone to match him at anything and those that tried were completely obliterated, but this woman seemed to go toe-to-toe to him as if it were a tango and she been dancing that dance for years and searching for a partner in which to do that dance with. She was smart, cunning, modestly hungry for power, and heavily independent. To say Kazuya already had an infatuation for her before even seeing her in person was an understatement, he was intrigued.

When the head of Mishima Co. and his entourage first stepped on the scene, he could only smirk at the envious glares that other CEO's gave them for they were sure Lilian would consider the infamous Mishima name and whatever they had to offer her. Fortunately for Kazuya, up until that point in which he arrived (which was later than most) it was said to him that Lilian had been an icy fortress and so far no one there had sparked her interest enough to get her to invest. Some had the privilege to almost get her to lift a finger and give them consideration, and then they would say something to make her recede back into the hardness of her exterior and she would dismiss that person out of her presence rather politely. Not only did she want someone intellectually on her level, but she wanted them to at least look the part as well. She was after all a very beautiful woman, and would have nothing but the most attractive people in her circle.

Kazuya and his entourage entered her home and the crowd parted for them, the Mishima name being whispered amongst the crowd of business folk who knew of either the horrors that went along with that name or the seemingly impossible triumphs. The powerful man couldn't help but smirk inwardly to himself as he swelled with pride, that was until he saw Lilian Celeste in the flesh standing not too far from him and his pride went right out the door he had just walked through. She hadn't noticed him yet, and the small hush of the large crowd seemed to go over her head as she continued her small conversation with someone she was considering doing business with. As she politely laughed at the mediocre joke the man told her, Kazuya took the chance to stare at the gorgeous woman. She had the curves of a seductress and yet hid away what almost every man there wanted to see in a rather modest silver dress. Her legs seemed to travel on forever and her skin was without blemish and was creamy to the whole purpose of the word. The slit of her dress only traveled mid-thigh and the arch of her back was slightly exposed as the one shoulder silver material draped gently across her chest. Her golden mane swished with every turn of her head and stopped right above her ample waist, Kazuya was memorized and wouldn't hesitate to admit that.

Her conversation with the male died and she finally turned around and their eyes caught each other's for the first time that night. Time seemed to stand still for the both of them and their situation hit them full force. They were long time enemies finally meeting each other for the first time on the bloody battlefield littered with the corpses of their opposers who tried to overtake them. They were two kings finally seeing each other after years of taking from one another, and now they both had mixed feelings about everything they had ever known about the other.

She politely excused herself from the oncoming male who was currently on his way to speak to her, and instead made her way towards the head of the business who's only purpose seemed to be taking her customers away from her. Kazuya watched the sway of her dress and felt his heart speed up a bit, watching as she almost seemed to glide towards him. He disregarded the hushed whispers as it seemed that he was the only one Lilian bothered to approach herself, and thus the rumors began.

"Mishima," she greeted politely with the slight decline of her head. "a pleasure to finally meet you" she said while extending her hand.

Kazuya threw a dashing smile at her and grabbed her gentle hands and brought them both to his lips, watching as a pretty color filled her cheeks. "The pleasure is mine" he replied.

She gently pulled her hands back and held it at her sides in a lady-like fashion, the color in her cheeks fading as soon as it came. "I would've thought with all the competition between you and I, you would never consider attending a get together that I'm hosting. We are enemies you know..." she said trailing off.

He chuckled handsomely and walked a little past her as he went to get himself and her a drink. "The way you stated that almost makes it seem as if you wouldn't want to go into business with me at all, if that was the case it brings me to wonder why I was among the many to get an invitation"

She gave him a smile of her own and followed him a little ways towards the drinks where she took little account to what he was doing. He was hardly right in his observation ,but she wouldn't say anything to make him think otherwise. He may have believed that she truly didn't want anything to do with him, but on the contrary, his methods of doing business sparked her interests a long time ago when it first came to her attention.

By this time, Kazuya's entourage disappeared, spreading out and mingling with the crowd to make impressions and attempt to make other connections while having the opportunity to do so. The crowd talked amongst itself and the two could've been submerged in an even larger crowd and still make their way to each other and converse and drown in their own little world they created together. They went unseen by many, their greed getting in the way of the reason why they attended the gathering in the first place. The point was to get _her _to invest in their businesses, not to take the chance to mingle with others and make pointless connections with people that could very well fall through. But if they were smart, they would be like Kazuya and do both.

He gracefully poured sparkling champagne for the both of them without wasting a drop into wine glasses, all the while keeping a close eye on the way she watched him with almost predatory eyes. Then he saw a smile sneak onto her face, and the simple action seemed to lighten the very air around her.

"I'm almost positive you would've done the same had the shoe been on the other foot Mishima -"

He politely cut her off with the single raise of his hand, which she obeyed plainly and waited for him to speak. "Call me Kazuya" he told her.

She almost seemed to still as he handed her the champagne glass and clink it against his own as she held it graciously. "Lilian.." she returned before tilting her head back slightly and tasting the bland alcohol on her tongue.

"As I were saying," she said while eyeing him playfully. "I'm sure you would've done the same _Kazuya_. If anything you would want to have an enemy like me in your corner, as I would you"

The dark haired man had to keep a very close notice on his heart rate for the sole purpose of playing the way she said his name over and over again in his mind. The little whispy sound at the end of her sentences, especially while speaking his native language, indicated she was very much foreign if her appearance didn't prove as much. There was no doubt in his mind that she was of French decent, her accent was too attractive sounding for him to consider otherwise.

He rose his eyebrows at her cooly. "Oh? What made you consider that I would want you as a partner?" he asked her with a hint of humor.

She put a hand on his shoulder and he almost jumped. Gently, she dragged her fingertips along the length of his shoulders until she was on his other side, completely within his eyesight. "Please don't play coy with someone like me. I know you're not a man who just does things on a whim, I know this because I've seen you in the field. If you truly didn't want my hand in partnership then you would not have come here to meet me now would you?" she asked him with a small smile.

He observed her facial expression as he replayed her words in his mind. Her voice was low enough so only he could here and there was something vicious hiding behind those almost silver eyes of her's. She was dangerous, he now knew. The amount of money she sat on more than likely had other people's blood on it (not that he wasn't familiar with having a certain amount of his own) but the entirety of her fortune was made out of blood money. Kazuya was sure at the time that she knew what kind of targets were placed on her head, he was aware of them herself, and didn't care that some of those targets could shift to him simply out of association. She was old enough to know what she was getting into and her world would be far more dark than his own, her eyes told him that she knew what she doing full well and that it could also get her killed without a trace of evidence left behind. Her very existence could blotted out and she knew that, she was just the type who found a certain high from being in close proximity to danger.

* * *

Thinking back on it now, Kazuya wondered vaguely if her world was the cause of her mysterious death. With the redefined weight of her departure on his shoulders after some minutes of being thrown back in time, Kazuya returned to the present with the shake of his head. That was ten years ago, and it was time to let sleeping dogs lie before he unearths something he'd rather not uncover.

"I'm assuming this is not the first time he's done...that" he asked stated aloud.

She walked around his office and he watched as she did so, letting his eyes linger on her exposed legs before returning his attention back to his assistant's rather troubled facial expression. Sighing somewhat, as she shook her head no. "I've just started watching them as you've instructed and there was a sort of...resigning way in which he made her do things. This is her way of life when she is with him," she paused and averted her gaze, "her father is despicable" she said lowly.

Kazuya's mouth went into a straight line, transforming slowly into a distressed frown. He couldn't say he didn't hear the acute muffled screams of the girl as they were all leaving. Everyone heard it and no one had the stomach to comment on something so pitiful. Including his own, everyone's inside seemed to twist at the images that popped in their minds about what he could possibly be doing to the young girl and why Rochefort couldn't wait to do those actions mainly so they would hear. Kazuya supposed they were lucky they didn't _see_ anything and just heard the aftermath of it.

"Are you going to tell Jin?" she asked quietly.

He nodded. "I have to. He has to know what he's dealing with. I just wish I would've known this before we all made the decision to have the meeting there with her present." he found his throat constricting a little. "I would've spared her the whole thing had I known this is what she went through behind closed doors"

Anna didn't respond to what he said, but silently agreed to his statement. She was aware of the meeting and what was said ,but she still wasn't told what they all heard out of courtesy of the young girl's privacy. They labeled it as a family matter and kept their mouths sealed.

Sympathy was not Kazuya's strongest attribute. Long ago he would've told anyone that he didn't have any simply because that's what he believed. But it unsettled him whenever he was presented with situations like these because it reminded him of a time where he tore his once whole family apart, and estranged the rest of his relatives in the name of the very company he only owned half of. Now that was the only thing he had left. The rest of his family was gone. A big piece of him was gone, and it couldn't be filled with his ostracized son who wanted little to do with him. The fact Jin was able to see his face everyday was something of a miracle to the elder man. He was thankful to say the least, but there was no way he would be able to rekindle anything with him-that would be asking for too much-and Kazuya's pride was bigger than his own emotions so there would be no way he would even humble himself enough to ask for any sort of forgiveness...but God he wanted it. He wanted it more than anything, and it was only more sad in his opinion because it took him twenty-eight years to figure out that he would very much like to have his son's forgiveness.

Now that it was time for his own son to start considering the life he would have with Emilie Rochefort, it was already tarnished thanks to the obscurities that was her corrupted father.

"Keep an eye on her," Kazuya muttered. "you aren't to interfere in any way unless her life is at stake. It won't be long before those two are married off and she'll be under the care of myself and Jin"

Anna seemed to bristle slightly when he told her that she would be watching more of Emilie's treacherous ordeals against her father. If anything she would much rather be in the headquarters of Mishima Co. and putting off paperwork that she should be doing at this second, but instead...

Her eyes snapped to his as Kazuya lost himself in his thoughts once again. She noticed he was doing so more than often and wondered what he was thinking about. His mannerisms were all normal until this spectacular event came up and now it was like he was a completely different person. A lot more pensive and a lot less...vicious. The young heir of Rochefort Oil Inc. wouldn't be the only person she would be keeping an eye on.

* * *

Jin was startled awake as a stack of papers were slammed hard on his desk. He glared his deadliest at his intruder and groaned inwardly as a familiar blonde penetrated his hazy vision.

"Nina.." he said bitterly.

Her icy eyes stayed the same as she continued to look at him and take note of his completely exhausted state. "You didn't get enough sleep" she stated simply.

He managed to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "No one working in this place does," Nina gave him a blank and calming stare and this time he really did roll his eyes. "well except you Nina" he muttered under his breath.

She disregarded his words as part of his mood due to his sleepiness and instead referred to the fake papers on his desk that was really a guise for the pictures underneath. He shuffled the papers around a little and noticed the photos of the two people on them, recognizing those people almost instantly. Nina watched as her boss's eyebrows furrowed and his mouth set into a thin straight line. The range of emotion that showed on his face almost unsettled the blonde woman, who wasn't use to such a reaction out of the usually stoic and calculative man but she kept her comments to herself and continued to observe.

"How did you finally find him?" he asked her while disdainfully tossing the photos to the side.

She looked at the suggestive photos and returned her gaze back to Jin who seemed to be steaming angrily. "He's a lot easier to find whenever the girl is present around these areas" she pointed to the mini-map on his desk and circled specific areas with her thin fingers. "he works here and leaves around eight, sometimes later if his job requires it. If this is the case, the girl will wait outside on another street in a black mercedes" she reported.

It didn't go past Nina's attention as she saw the twitch in Jin's dark eyebrow. He was irritated. She had her inferences on why, but one could never be sure and she could be completely wrong, but what she was thinking of was completely ridiculous and far-fetched. So she limited her wild mind and figured he was irritated because the man he was searching for was in association with his soon to be fiance and he couldn't really kill him off now that he knew she would be affected. He had no idea what their relationship was, and it wasn't like he wanted the man dead because he was a threat. He wanted him dead because he was annoying and kept getting in his way for the sole purpose of defeating him in a fight (which wouldn't happen for a long time unless the baboon grew a brain). The korean didn't _need_ to die, at least not in Nina's opinion. He would never be able to pose a threat to Mishima Co. and that enough didn't validate the loss of his life. Jin really just didn't want him around, but wouldn't admit it. Now that he knew the two were more than associate with each other instead of it being a passing friendship, he would rather want the auburn haired male dead.

Now, the young girl was inadvertently in the way of that too.

* * *

A/N: I'm literally writing the next story as soon as I upload this chapter. I've got a few good ideas for this storyline coming in later chapters and I really don't want to lose them. By the way, when Kazuya mentions that he's sad that it took him twenty-nine years to realize he wanted Jin's forgiveness I don't mean that he is twenty-nine. He is still very much forty-nine in this storyline, I just took away how old Jin is (21) from how old Kazuya had to have been to conceive him or see his birth (28), at least I think so if I did the math right haha ^^". Which also indicates that all Jin's life, Kazuya has been regretful of his actions.

...Come on people he's a grown man, at some point he has to feel bad about what he's done to Jin. I did this to at least make him seem human and I want my story to seem at the very most realistic and that is realistic to me. To hell with OOC-ness, I don't believe in that unless its a complete 180-flip from the original character herself/himself. Anyway, Happy Reading guys :)

~Sasusakui


	5. Chapter 5

Lover of the Dark

**Chapter 5**

The bare chest of strong male was pressed lightly against the slightly sweating cheek of Emilie Rochefort. Her breath was slightly haggard, and lewd sounding as it exited from her lips and her legs were on either side of the male's body as she lay on top of him. Her long hair stuck to the arch of her back and her blue eyes were dulled almost lifelessly from the extreme sense of euphoria and escasty not quite leaving her system yet. A hand, his hand, rested tiredly against the small of her back right above her backside almost possessively and he squeezed the tightness of it gently before attempting to sit up while she was still on him. The glare he got from her as he made more extra movement told him that what he was doing wasn't appreciated whatsoever, but soon the look of annoyance melted away.

He encircled his arms around her torso, liking the feel of her naked body against his bare chest, and pressed his hands lightly against her bare bottom. A pretty color painted her cheeks as he lifted her and placed her back on top of his length. She bit her bottom lip and let out a shaky breath, instantly wrapping her arms around his neck tightly as he began to control her body like a marionette; doing things that she had never done to him before. He must've been offly glad to see her thanks to the four months they went without seeing each other.

"We should stop doing this," she said through rough thrusts. "You know who really would raise hell if he ever found out about this"

He laughed stiffly before letting out a light moan to the tightness of her walls. "You're right. I could get you pregnant and that wouldn't be good for your big bad wolf fiance"

She somehow managed to throw him a glare before releasing a loud moan that contained the words 'fuck!,yes!, and aah! in them before responding to his previous comment. "Don't pretend you don't like the idea of me having your kid just to stick it to Jin. With how much you hate him you would do almost anything just to be a thorn in his side" she told him as he thrusted up and into her.

He captured her lips suddenly, making her almost draw back in surprise before returning the kiss with fervor. He broke the kiss and smiled a little at her. "I'm not as cruel as you think. Otherwise I wouldn't be here right now in this hotel with you having the best sex of my life"

Before they both knew what hit them, they climaxed together and landed right back in the position they started in, breathing heavily as if they both participated in a marathon. A marathon they both just won. Lili traced shapes on the red-head's chest and he rubbed her bare shoulders like a lover would. The two enjoyed the down time they had with each other after sex ,but neither would admit it. Because that would lead to accusations of love for the other and they couldn't have that because it was impossible, it just was. In a different life Lili probably would've thought to marry this man, but her fate was sealed with Jin and there was nothing she could do about that so she settled for numerous hotel rooms with her friend until she could no longer and then the two would say goodbye forever.

"I know Jin is looking for me" he muttered out of the blue.

Her pretty blonde head lifted at his words and her mouth pouted a little in confusion. "Looking for you on what grounds?"

Hwoarang momentarily lost himself within the eyes of his female companion and found himself bringing her face in closer for a kiss, which he got. It was slow and sensual, his toes curling underneath her as she explored every crevice of his mouth with her tongue and he returned the favor. No, this wasn't love but maybe this was something akin to what it felt like. After she finally put a hand on his chest to stop him, she looked up at him with hooded blue eyes.

"Are you going to answer my question instead of trying to take my mind off it?" she asked coyly.

He chuckled somewhat and scratched the back of head before leaning it back on the large pillows behind him, lost in thought. "I'm not sure why. But I know he is. This is the first time he's ever sought me out instead of it being the other way around"

He peeked under his arm that was currently hiding his eyes from the sight of his beautiful companion and saw an expression there he'd never thought he'd see. "You're worried." he said quietly.

She shook her head no ,but the look in her eyes were still there. "No. I'm not its just-

"It's just that you're worried" he said with a soft smile.

He put a gentle hand on top of her head as she laid it back down on his chest, just breathing softly. Not responding to his accusations simply because they were true, but there would be no point in time would she voice how worried she really was. She'd never hear the end of it.

"I can take care of myself Lili," he told her reassuringly.

Her head shot up from his chest and he almost shivered at the cold glare she gave him. "Jin's reach is very far, further than just mine alone and you know I can't ask my father for anything without him expecting something in return. He can reach to the deepest crevice of whatever dark hole you crawl into and draw you out with cruel methods." her look softened after a few moments. "we have to be careful"

Hwoarang planted a chaste kiss on the top of her head and inhaled her feminine scent. "You have nothing to be worried about"

In response to his reassuring words she planted a kiss herself right over the spot where she knew his heart beat against her ear. "I thought I told you I'm not worried"

The auburn haired male didn't take too kindly to the news that Lili was being engaged to the second head of Mishima Co. he felt as if Lili's father didn't even want to have a daughter in the first place and she was purely a nuisance to whatever plan he had for that damned company. She was too fragile to put in the circle of wolves that was the Zaibatsu, he was afraid of the long term effects it would have on her mental psyche after the many years she spent under the thumb of her oppressive father, and he was afraid that the whole ordeal would change her and he would never see her as she was now in his arms.

His eyes gazed down her naked back and he noticed the bruises she had didn't really clear away yet. The first time he'd seen her naked body, there were other bruises in places where they shouldn't have been...places where an abuser would try to avoid if need be. Hwoarang had his hunches, and he was pretty sure they were right, but he just didn't want to believe them. Lili was honest with him when he asked about them, saying that her father got angry too often to be called human, and he left it at that. But she would leave promptly if he asked about the ones that were closest to her private areas. The same areas he would bruise himself in love. He could only imagine how pitiful she'd really feel if Jin ever saw her bruises, and knowing how stoic and stand-offish the man was firsthand, he wasn't quite sure how Jin would even handle such information.

* * *

Kazuya was swamped with paperwork and couldn't stay focused on even one that simply needed his okay or not. That's what most of those sheets were anyway, asking his approval or not, and the others he actually had to use knowledge for. He tried shaking himself from his own thoughts and reached for the first sheet on the stack.

"Fund-raiser for reserve funds" he read off slowly to himself. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and slightly nodded his head, "approved." He said while stamping it.

The sheets of paper after the one he approved were similar. His team was composed of college grads with professional or doctorate degrees and he would like to think that his employees were the brains of the entire company, without them the Zaibatsu would just be a treacherous powerhouse with no meaning behind its actions—no purpose. Jin's employees were not exactly qualified to be on his side of the office. His son had always said that he could find something useful in every type of person and that not all of them had to be college grads, Kazuya thought differently. He liked to be sure he was given what he was told he would be given and hated receiving otherwise. There was nothing else the man hated more than wasted time.

One example of wasted time, was the approval or denial sheet that somehow got in his work bin about a bachelor party being hosted in the heart of Zaibatsu. His right eyebrow twitched almost wildly. No and no. The sheet was in bits and pieces before Kazuya even noticed Jin in his office, hands in his pockets and lazily looking at him with mild interest. His eyes shooting back and forth between the haphazard sheets of paper and his father's on the verge snarl.

"You must've gotten the bachelor party suggestion" Jin mused.

Kazuya was irritated by the fact his son thought it was funny. "Yes I did. And I hope you wouldn't embellish in something so juvenile and stupid as a bachelor party"

"What's the harm?" Jin asked while waving his signed approved bachelor party suggestion in the air, "It's been—what, four years since they've had anything worth celebrating about around here? We take so much from them"

Jin met Kazuya's glare with a half hearted smirk and almost laughed aloud when he saw his father get even angrier. "We aren't here to give them 'breaks' and 'celebrations' Jin we're here to ensure that this company doesn't fall so low that Rochefort somehow manages to scoop it right from under us and there would be nothing that would shame us more" Kazuya seethed. "The man is not even within our family line and he still thinks he has the right to it"

"Edward is not nearly capable enough to run this company let alone steal it from us while we still both have our lives," Jin looked at him blankly. "There's a slow day on Wednesday of this week—

Kazuya opened his mouth to cut Jin off but was silenced by said man with the raise of a hand. "I cancelled everything that day, it wasn't much anyway and I looked at your schedule so I know you're pretty much free that day as well...if it makes you feel any better I can host it on my side of the building if the noise will bother you"

His father sighed and grunted in defeat. In favor of wanting his son to forgive (even though he knew full well that the prospect could be in the very distant future), he decided to just let Jin have his way and threw up his hands.

"If you want to waste a considerably constructive day for a senseless thing such as a bachelor party then be my guest, just don't expect me to make an appearance" Kazuya muttered.

Jin rolled his eyes with a smirk. "I wouldn't expect the impossible from you"

A glint in Kazuya's eye that Jin didn't catch meant all types of mischief as the next words exited his mouth. "Now that this is happening, you ever considered bringing a date to the event? It would seem odd if a bachelor like yourself showed up there without one"

Jin knew his father was more or less suggesting Emilie Rochefort but he wouldn't have it. "Her extracurricular activities might prevent her otherwise from showing up. Her soon to be fiancé is the furthest thing from her mind" the younger male stated sarcastically.

Kazuya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and before he could voice his questions, photos were thrown on his desk in front of him. His onyx eyes ran over the photos in less than a second and he instantly recognized the two people on them as Jin had previously. To say the least Kazuya was surprised.

"Baek-san's star pupil..." The elder man trailed. "Who would've thought" he mused.

Jin crossed his arms and held his head down in attempt to get his scrambling thoughts together. "They meet mostly on the weekends after he gets off, and as you can see..." He looked almost disdainfully at the photos on his father's desk. "Are very intimate"

Kazuya had to catch the bellowing laughter bubbling up his chest. How amusing was this?! The very man Jin hated was sleeping with his soon to be wife, and from the date on the top right corner of the pictures, this was after the young girl was told she would be married to Jin. He wondered if the auburn-haired kid knew.

"You two aren't married yet you know..." Kazuya chuckled a bit. "It's a little soon to start being possessive over someone who isn't yours until—mid June?"

"I'm not being possessive" Jin growled. "I've never liked him before her and I probably still won't like him after her. I don't know why I haven't killed him sooner"

Kazuya shook his head. "Am I wrong to assume why all of a sudden you want this man's head on a platter?"

Jin's deadly glare was as good of an answer as any and Kazuya couldn't help but chuckle at how mad his son seemed to get in terms of that tall and model looking blonde that happened to be Lilian's splitting image. The elder man's eyes drifted down to the pictures again and he felt himself getting light-headed.

There were three photos in all ,but the elder man couldn't stop himself from glancing at the very last one of the stack. It showed the Rochefort heir and Baek's pupil in a hotel. They left their windows open and the photographer was able to get a full shot, showing the gleam of the blonde's arched back as she straddled her partner's lap. Her head was thrown to the side and her lips were parted mid-moan, her eyes were closed as her long lashes brushed against her cheek, and her shining hair was hoisted in the hands of her lover's. A dangerous thought was on the rise of entering his mind and he sighed in relief as his son quickly stomped over to snatch the pictures up from his possession.

Kazuya watched as Jin stuffed the photos inside his back pocket and sighed. "If it really bothers you so much why don't you just make the call now and get it over with. If I can recall you've been planning his death for a long time...have you considered the possible outcomes of taking his life now knowing his association to Emile?"

"I don't care" Jin muttered while walking out abruptly.

* * *

"That little..tramp!"

Sebastian jumped slightly as Edward's roar of anger rivabrated throughout the whole room. His hands were clammy underneath his pressed white gloves and his posture shook a little, it didn't go unnoticed how the other maids seemed to disappear out of nowhere either.

Shards of broken glass littered the emerald green carpeted floor and more porcelain trinkets were being thrown around as Sebastian's angry master went around his office in a blind fury. The butler feared the worst when the male following his young ward around reported back to Edward and told him the news. Prone to his habits, Edward took the news on the chin and waved his hand at the prospect as if it were nothing new and he already knew about it, but Sebastian wouldn't be fooled like the rest.

He could see the bottomless pit of anger behind his bright blue eyes and the clenching and un clenching of his jaw as his skin started to turn a shade of beet red. His veins pulsed with life and beads of sweat started to line his forehead, honestly the person spying on Lili was clueless enough and wouldn't notice her father's anger even if Edward decided to shoot him dead on the spot.

Edward now sat at his scratched mahagony desk and buried his head in his hands, grumbling incomprehensible words to himself like a mad man, Sebastian could practically see the madness oozing out of him like a poison.

"She's trying to leave me just like her mother did, Sebastian" Edward spoke aloud. "She wants to leave me for another and I won't have it, I won't" he muttered darkly.

The butler didn't reply to her father's ramblings and considered it best if he didn't indulge in his rampage. It would only be adding fuel to the continuously growing fire—a fire he was sure no one else could put out. Absolutely no one. Suddenly Edward's head shot up to meet Sebastian and he seemed to trace something within the butler's eyes that didn't exist—a guilt that wasn't even there.

"Did you know about this?!" He whispered incredulously.

Sebastian returned the man glazed over eyes with a cool look, a look that a serial killer would probably give his next victim. "No sir. I hardly see Miss Lili outside of these walls and I am not with her when she is. The only person who would know would be the person you previously spoke with and Miss Lili herself"

Edward seemed to soak up these words and accept them for what they were, he almost started to feel crazy for thinking his senile butler would know something like that about his whore daughter. "I want them both Sebastian...I never want this Korean rat to touch my daughter the way I do ever again"

Sebastian was deeply concerned by the drastic turn his master's mind was taking. It was as clear as day that the man was insane and that Lilian fell in love with him and possibly gave birth to a mad child, but that wasn't fair. He reprimanded himself internally for even remotely relating the father and the daughter together in any way other than the fact that Edward is Lili's father. Of course young Lili had more of her mother in her than she would ever have her father and that was a compliment all in itself.

"I want him dead Sebastian...and I want Emilie locked in her room until I say otherwise" the man commanded.

His completely impossible demands was dragging something old and ancient out of the kind butler, what Edward was asking him to do yet not directly was something that was beyond him now. Everything in his body told him now was the time to finally oppose Edward in favor of Lilian's only child, and he did love her once. He owed it to her. The butler opened his mouth to say something, finding his voice long forgotten in the pit of his stomach, but his words suddenly caught in his throat. Thinking about speaking out against his master and actually doing so were two totally different things, and soon more of his words were being crammed down his throat as Edward looked up at him questioningly. His lips pursing in wonder as his blue eyes seem to twitch with growing madness.

"Sebastian?" he called.

The butler's eyebrows rose in question, sweat beading alongside them. "Yes, sir?"

"You heard me correct?" he cleared his throat behind a closed fist. "I want Emilie brought to me and I want that bastard's head on a spear by the time you're through with him"

The butler bowed low at the hip and he lamented at the fact his hands were now more so tied behind his back than before, his command was direct this time and any more moments hesitation would be even more suspicious. "As you command"

He turned to leave ,but was halted by Edward calling him back. "Hold on.."

"Yes?" Sebastian answered, not yet turning around to face the blonde haired male.

"I'm sure you know the reason why you were taken in by the Celeste's so many years ago, I know all about it because my dear Lilian once told me"

The sound of his lover's name rolling off his tongue made Sebastian's skin crawl and he struggled with his inner self, something he hadn't had to deal with for as long as he'd been serving the Celeste's, a self that hadn't come up until now and ached for the blood of Lili's father. Everything within him shouted to slit the man's throat right at that moment, but Sebastian swallowed his dignity, pride, and bloodlust.

"Your purpose is to protect the family line of the Celeste's no matter how extended it may be. Any amount of Celeste blood counts which includes the fathers of the children who never inherit the Celeste name through marriage" Edward told him things the butler already knew. "I'm lucky enough to have had a daughter with Lilian and was more than frightened when I heard she was only going to bear one child—a child I was sure was going to be a son"

Sebastian swallowed thickly. "Sons do not get the Celeste name. Only the females do. Even if a Celeste were to have two sons, neither of them would receive the name, but if one of those sons were to have a daughter of their own then she would receive the family name...and so on"

Edward nodded in confirmation of his butler's statement. "I've heard the tales of you Sebastian, whispered in the halls of this very mansion where the women of the family would meet and talk in secret about your past. A secret that has been passed down the line and stopped right before Lili, she doesn't know who you really are..."

"What exactly are you saying?" Sebastian asked him. "What good will it do to expose her to my past?"

A glint in Edward's eye that Sebastian missed entirely due to his back being turned towards him. "She will know your past if she continues to defy me. She'll know it first-hand and very personally"

A cold shiver went through Sebastian's entire body at the prospect of his ward's fate. If she thought she was truly caged by her father then, there would be no words for how caged she would feel when she would never step foot out of her shared home with her father ever again until her marriage to the young CEO of Mishima Zaibatsu was final. Sebastian could only bow once more to Edward and finally make his leave of his office, his words of protest dying once more in his throat.

"As you wish"

* * *

A/N: Hello hello! I hope you guys enjoyed this installment of this Tekken storyline! I am sorry for the long wait and plan to make it up to certain people who are familiar with my work, including those who are not. Those who are _not_ familiar with my work will hopefully get an update very soon, I'm talking maybe two days tops of my undivided attention to the next update of this story. Those who _are_ familiar with my work will get an update of Optional Abyss (a Naruto fanfiction I've left alone for a little while) and I'm pretty sure you guys are angry enough at me for not updating that one.

Happy Reading everyone! ~Sasusakui


	6. Chapter 6

Reaper of the Past

**Chapter 6**

"Somehow I feel as if something bad will happen" The young blonde spoke to her lover as they both sat in her black Mercedes. She frowned softly when she never got a response from him and turned momentarily to face him. He had flat out ignored her and she took the rude action on the tip of her chin, there were worse things he could do that would cut at her. She sighed and felt grateful that at least the traffic wasn't too bad at the moment.

The tinted windows of the vehicle helped a lot with the privacy issue for the two, but the Rochefort family insignia was a dead giveaway and the young blonde ignored the jaw-drop reactions as she rolled pass commoners. Meanwhile, her sulking lover had his arm on the nearby armrest of the car and his eyes narrowed angrily into the distance out the window. She gazed at him through her peripheral and stared longer than she should've, thinking how handsome he looked when he was upset with her. His legs had a lot of room so he made a point to have his legs spread out and the tip of his pinky sat on the top of his bottom lip, luckily for her she knew where his attitude was stemming from.

His ripped dark jeans sat low on his hips and the off black fringed sleeved vest he wore accentuated his biceps nicely, underneath he wore a plain white v-neck and on his feet were fresh timberlands courtesy of her. His ruffled auburn hair laid in soft ringlets and trailed a little ways down the nape of his neck. A sparkle caught her eye and after looking at the road very quickly to make sure she was in the right lane, she returned her attention back to her lover's ears that were occupied with square earrings just his size (again courtesy of her). She smiled fondly at the reminiscence that they were gifts for his twentieth birthday, and she was proud that she presented them to him in a way he couldn't refuse and those two-point ten carat, square brilliant, black diamonds have remained in his ears since then.

Tires upturned gravel as she pulled at the corner of the next street over from his job and he shifted, the frown on his face not moving. They were in a somewhat secluded area, being between two narrow buildings and all while at the same time being under an over path. Just a crosswalk away from the two was Hwoawang's job, a nice five star restaurant that had a reputation all of its own and he made decent tips there as a waiter. Lili could remember vaguely when her father took her to dinner there once, before his illness took place, and the young blonde spotted her former opponent heading towards them with a tray in his hand. They recognized each other instantly, but both were able to keep their facial expressions calmly composed and together. The act was so brilliant that not even Edward caught on to the air of the two before the waiter calmly excused himself and went away. They were both shocked to say the least, but didn't think about the incident anymore afterwards.

The korean male always got upset when it was time for them to part. It was a short moment when they were together and a long time when they were away from each other, he wondered if this would possibly be the last time they saw each other. She twisted and turned her keys from the ignition and the whole vehicle rumbled to rest and the real silence enshrouded the two. He didn't move to leave her side yet and she didn't pester him to, they just sat and kind of wondered who would try to leave first when neither really wanted to. As much as Lili wanted to be normal with him and go out normally with him, she had to constantly keep reminding herself that the two of them together had little to no chances of becoming official. She was going to be married to one of the most powerful men in the world soon and she wouldn't be able to continue sneaking around with her ex-opponent and short time friend. It may have worked with her father but it would never get past Jin and she wouldn't be surprised if the man already knew.

Lili needed an out from the whole situation. The marriage, her father, Sebastian..everything and she considered broaching the subject with her lover knowing that she wasn't anywhere near her "_family_" to hear anything said.

The thought of never seeing his girl again made a strange tearing feeling grab at his chest and hold him at attention to the here and now moment. They were together, in her car, sitting in mildly comfortable silence, and he found himself unable to leave her side. It was as if he knew for a fact that as soon as he turned his back on her he would turn around and see her being dragged away by the hulking figure of her father. Everything in him wanted to help her, protect her, but this was something he couldn't possibly get involved with too deeply. He was already knee deep in the sticky tar that was the _oh-so-powerful_ Jin Kazama who was still on the lookout for him (so he heard) and knowing Jin's dangerous resources that were now combined with his powerful menace of a father. Hwoawang's logical mind should've been telling him to back out a long time ago, hell, it still was, he just couldn't bring himself to. He gained so much respect from her already and that was't such an easy task in the first place, and when they first started secretly seeing each other he just knew it couldn't stop there between them. Any talk of anything serious though had the both of them scurrying for the hills though and both made up excuse after excuse as to why they couldn't pursue anything bigger and better than what they already had.

"I'm gonna go back to Iron Fist soon" she announced suddenly.

His reaction to the news was slow, but a resistance was still as clear as day on his face. "What the hell are you thinking?" he asked incredulously without raising his voice. "The Iron Fist Tournaments...hasn't helped your situation at all. If anything you've made more enemies because of it" he said with a flick of the wrist

"It's gonna help me now! ," she snapped. Then she softened a bit, "Besides it's not like I have any other choice in the matter without my father always being around. I need an out and Iron Fist is it"

He snorted in mock amusement. This was his way of being protective about her decisions that could get her in deeper trouble with her already unstable father. "There's no way your father would have you compete in it and he would find out eventually now that he's in good health and if he finds out all hell would break loose, plus there's the concern of you losing a match"

She corrected him. "I don't lose. That one match against that Asuka girl was a complete fluke"

He scoffed. "Please don't feed me that _Platinum Grace _crap, the name will only take you so far, and she won that match fair and you know it" he said dismissively.

"You've seen me fight and I've fought you once before too, I'm nothing to laugh at and I do acknowledge my weaknesses but now that I know what I'm fighting for is something greater than my father," she paused and swallowed thickly. "I can't afford to lose anything" she uttered.

Hwoawang didn't know how much his respect for her could grow until he realized that the pit of it was bottomless. It was a noble cause when she announced the first time that she was fighting for her father who had a stroke and was on his sickbed for an undetermined amount of time, but it was even more admirable when one was fighting for their freedom at the cost of something very high. The Korean almost felt like she was too brilliant for him and her radiance was almost unbearable, now the thought of her being handed off to someone whose conscious was blacker than the murkiest water sounded so foreign in his mind, when before he had reluctantly accepted the fact that she was going to be married soon and he would have limited time with her.

This was what he was afraid of, and it was already happening. He got accustomed to her, use to her soft chuckle that was filled with mirth or the slight teasing at his expense, the way she touched him, the way she looked at him while she stared up into his eyes from his chest, and the way she felt when she was with him. For all of that to be given up to Jin was something Hwoarang almost couldn't tolerate, better yet, he wouldn't _accept_ it.

He shook his head and let out a cynical laugh. "Eventually you'll have to face one of _those_ two. They may run a company but they still have a reputation to uphold, everyone who knows about Iron Fist knows that those too are at the very top" his eyes shot towards her to watch her reaction and sighed when he saw a thin line of a frown across her face. She was bothered by the fact he didn't like her plan of trying to maneuver out of her father's watchful gaze.

"I can't wait any longer for this to happen. Do you know how long it's been since I knew what freedom felt like? When I could come and go as I please without my father telling me I had certain days where I can leave that prison of a place. I can't wait another day—another second with him. The Iron Fist money will help me in case he threatens to cut me off, which he will do finally once I'm with Jin. He can't know that I'll have some funds to fall back on as a cushion" she told him with a determined gaze.

He crossed his arms in thought and saw the logic to it, he still didn't like it but he did see why she was so eager to be away from the only family she had left. Her father was like a poison to her psyche and her emotional well-being, not to mention physically as well. "What about all the money you make doing that modeling stuff? Your face is everywhere and you have the looks for any job you want, money should literally be falling in your lap"

"My father keeps all of it because he knows I can leave him with it, and I would never look back" she sighed and scratched mildly at the loose ponytail that occupied the top of her head.

Silence settled around the two once more except it wasn't so pleasant this time, and the red head found himself shifting uncomfortably in her presence. He would be late if he kept himself idle with Lili knowing his job was nothing but a crosswalk away. She sighed and turned to face him, dark brown, rectangular shaped, tinted shades sat on the middle of her nose and he found it hard to see through them to make out her eyes. Somewhere though he knew those icy blues were looking only at him and seeing straight through.

She reached one of her ivory hands to touch the side of his face and he allowed it, liking the way her cool touch met with his warm flesh. He felt her start to lightly pull his face and he leaned towards her, meeting lips sweetly with his palm lightly pressing against her slender jawline.

"You'll be late dilly-dallying with me" she told him after she broke the kiss herself. "And I have to get back home before my father sends Sebastian. Knowing him he probably already has"

He didn't miss the slight grimace on her face about the butler he once heard fond things about from her mouth, but he left it up to her when and how she wanted to tell him about that when she decided to. The red head nodded and opened the door of her car, swung his legs out, and slipped out of her atmosphere. He closed the door behind him and a heavy weight settled on his chest. He started walking towards his job, getting further and further away and she was all he could think of as he kept making a distance away from her world.

He eventually got to the door of his job and walked inside. Immediately, he was assaulted with the mixture of smells that wafted towards him from the kitchen. A couple of customers were already there and talking softly, some looking up to see who had just walked in some losing interest at the sight of him, and others (mainly females) lingering their eyes on his form for a moment longer before returning their attention back to something else.

His footsteps led him all the way to the back of the place, past the kitchen, and down the fairly long hallway to the locker rooms where he would change into his uniform and start the day with a foreboding feeling in his chest with Lili's words from earlier echoing repeatedly in his mind, _"...Something bad will happen" _He hoped she wasn't referring to herself.

* * *

Wednesday was right around the corner and Jin was actually regretting his decision on clearing his whole schedule to help out with the bachelor party. His help was no longer needed at the moment and it left his mind open to think about things he would rather put off until he finally got home.

The pictures that still laid stiff in his back pocket seemed to burn hotly through his jeans and he sighed, it confused him that his mind was still on them at all. He drew up conclusion upon conclusion and none of them was making sense no matter how hard he kept trying to jam it into his mind. Growing frustrated and temporarily mad with rage, he snatched them up from his pockets and held them in the palm of his hand. He concentrated and felt a familiar pulsating at the base of his forehead, a growl of pain rumbling from his mouth, and soon a sizzling smell of burning wax paper followed after. It was risky using his powers in the office ,but he knew how to be discreet. Luckily for him, it wasn't loud enough to be heard by the human ear. Jin felt satisfied as soon as the small pile of ash was what was left of the photos, if there were more (which he was sure Nina had) then he didn't want to know about them and he would continue to deny their existence for as long as he could.

Jin swiveled around in his office chair to watch the city below him and he squinted against the light shining off the hoods of the cars. He was really starting to regret his decision now and there was no way he could reverse the effect either, the constant ticking of the clock he had up on the wall made his decision that much more irrational. He hated to admit his father was right and what annoyed him even more was the fact that Kazuya had a full schedule going for him and he sometimes caught the elder man walking in and out of his office with stacks of paper in his hands. Jin felt so jealous. What the hell was he thinking?

Head now in his hands, Jin was simply breathing when someone literally barged through his office doors and slammed both hands down on his desk. Anger seeped out of him as he hadn't turned around yet to meet his assailant but his eyes flickered to the littering sheets of paper that were previously on his desk but now on the floor. His eyes narrowed as he thought to avenge them and turned around to yell at whoever the hell thought they had any right to just come into his office whenever they pleased.

He opened his mouth but was beaten to the punch when his younger cousin invaded his sight. His eyebrows rose in surprise. She was there in his office wearing her typical school uniform but she was suppose to be all the way in Osaka and not back in Tokyo until the summer.

"Jin you massive idiot!" She screamed to the top of her lungs.

The dark haired male didn't flinch at the venom in her voice ,but he did sigh at the stoping and staring co-workers who were gathered at his door and slowly peeking in his office to see what the fuss was about. He calmly stood and walked around her, slamming his door in the process, before turning around to see Asuka standing in front of him with her arms crossed. One of his breaths got caught in his throat and it was then that he knew the onslaught of whatever his cousin said next would make sure to give him a headache later on.

"You married that big headed girl?!" She all but screeched. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

Immediately Jin knew whom and what she was talking about. "We're technically not married yet, we're engaged"

She threw up her gloved hands. "Same difference! And you never answered my question!"

He walked back towards his desk and laced his fingers together under his chin, a brooding stare making Asuka cower slightly. "What I do to keep this company afloat doesn't concern you Asuka" he said simply.

Her face turned red with fury as she clenched her fists, not catching on to the subtle answer to her original question. "This has everything to do with me. That girl has got it out for me and now all of a sudden I hear from fucking entertainment news that you're going to be married to that..._monster_. Why didn't I hear this from you?!"

"Because it doesn't concern you like I said Asuka" his voice lowered a bit and his eyes avoided her form for a moment. "You don't know her"

Her eyebrows rose at him and her mouth popped open in mock surprise. "And you do? You have no idea how manipulative she is and the fact that you're even considering this damn marriage justifies that her father is just going to use her to sink his fangs into this company" she said air quoting the word company. The action made one of the sides of Jin's lips twitch and she continued to push the envelope with him. "This whole thing is a sham and you'll be lucky if any of this comes out on top, you're making a deal with the devil"

"So, _what_, you just came all the way from Osaka just to annoy me about what I'm doing? I don't have time for this Asuka" he said irritably.

Her whole mouth twitched the same way Jin's dead and her fists shook even more as she turned on her heel to walk away. "Yeah you never do. Never time for your family" she said over her shoulder.

Jin knew where she was headed next and rolled his eyes, he was at least happy Kazuya would receive the same earful he did. When she did leave, she made a point to slam his office door hard enough to cause a crack to appear on it which angered her cousin more than he thought he would be by the action. He had to keep his breathing under control as he felt himself start to change prematurely. It was a usual habit for him to have his anger under control but certain things lately were starting to set him off when before he would've looked the other way and not cared at all. When and where did the change start he wondered.

Absent-mindedly he reached up to rub the side of his neck and his eyes widened when he felt the deep indentations. His mind immediately went back to the time when he looked in the mirror and saw the bruise, but now it seemed to be much worse. It actually felt like a bite that was deep enough to leave behind its shape ,but not deep enough to have broken any skin. He went slower over the sore area and could actually feel every single dent and crevice teeth would make, it definitely felt real. Popping his collar, he covered the mark away from any prying eyes that may or may not be watching as he exited his office and walked amongst the various sized cubicles of his employees. It was time to make an announcement.

* * *

Kazuya wrote at least twenty five pages of reasons why he shouldn't completely destroy a sister company to Zaibatsu and hoped its owner would understand the non-subtle hint he was trying to make. He wasn't too keen on stepping on a business partner's toes to make a point ,but he wasn't completely against it. If that's what it took to send out a message not to get in his and his son's way then that's what he would do.

He was about to call Anna in to quickly get his letter to the sister company before his niece burst into the room. The frown that settled in on his face at the audacity of her was picture worthy as the sight of her morphed his face into something else: curiosity.

"Ah. My favorite _niece_" he muttered. "You weren't suppose to be back here from Osaka until Summer. Why are you here?" He already knew the answer but he wanted to test the young girl and see what she would say.

Her completely red face and almost frazzled expression was answer enough, but Kazuya was not a man to be easily satisfied. "Well since my dear old cousin won't tell me why that manipulative _bitch_ is somehow going to interject herself into my family I decided to come to you..._uncle_"

Kazuya's head cocked to the side as he looked at her trying to see under her bangs and into her eyes. "What exactly did Jin say to you when you went to him?" He asked her.

"He said it was none of my concern, just like that, but it is! He hasn't opened up to me once! And for as long as I can remember he's hated you with every bone in his body, yet he can stand to be in the same building as you. On top of that, I don't even find out from him firsthand that he's going to marry that privileged blonde bitch that'll bleed everyone around her dry" she said with a bite, her voice raising every time she mentioned the Rochefort heir.

Kazuya's eyebrows rose at the vulgar language that flew out of his niece's mouth and settled on a signature smirk that made a strong shiver run up and down Asuka's spine. She was starting to regret getting in way over her head and getting on the first plane from Osaka that presented itself. When the news first appeared on tv all she could see was that magazine cover regal blonde on a side by side next to her cousin—her family member, and the red bold letters: marriage. She had dropped everything, stopped thinking about whatever she was thinking about and just froze. Then anger rolled and swelled like a tsunami inside of her and the rest was a blur, the next thing she knew she was standing in front of the imposing size of Mishima Zaibatsu.

Now she was standing in front of her uncle who had this look in his eye that usually meant he was going to do something in honor of his amusement at the expense of someone else. She bit the inside of her cheek and completely collapsed inside of herself in Kazuya's presence. Asuka looked and felt every bit of vulnerable in front of her relative.

"Jin has a lot on his plate right now, but he has a free spot in his schedule on Wednesday where he'll be more willing to speak to you then"

* * *

Sebastian watched his young ward from afar as she continued to sit in her car long after her lover had gone inside of the restaurant. He vaguely wondered why she was still there and figured she was too afraid to go back home. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have the luxury of just sitting there basking in her temporary freedom.

She would never know he was only but a few feet away because he happened to be well versed in the art of not only keeping a watchful eye on people, but giving off the impression that he was just a butler trying to get by with his life as it crested and neared its end.

The young miss was surprised when a shadow passed over her side of the window and quickly looked to see who could've been possibly planning to break through and snatch her from the vehicle. When she didn't see anyone, her heart beat died down a bit and she covered her chest in relief. She took off her sunglasses and rubbed her eyes and was spooked into dropping them when a polite knock on her window made her jump.

The sight of Sebastian standing there in his normal butler uniform made Lili's heart jump straight into her throat. Her face blanched and she paled to a sickly shade of ivory white. She'd been found.

Shaky fingers found the button on her armrest to lower the window all the way down so she could speak to her once valued ally. "Sebastian" she muttered his name slowly.

His polite smile couldn't mean what it appeared as he leaned forward on her windowsill to tell her a piece of news that would greatly upset her. "Your father has told me to come and retrieve you, miss."

"The three day mark isn't up yet" she said quietly, avoiding his unwavering stare. "I have two days left..."

He admired her honest words for her freedom, but nothing would save her from her actions of rebellion. "_He knows_ Emilie" he told her almost affectionately. "You've been found out by the last person who needed to know anything"

She gulped and her throat clenched painfully, making tears prick at the corner of her eyes. "I don't—

"If you lie to me, or attempt to at this moment I will go in that restaurant right now and rip that pretty little boy's throat right out and paint the insides of that establishment red" he said with growing irritation. The stunned silence and obvious fear in her eyes made him continue. "As I said. Your father knows about your daylight and midnight escapades and wants his head on a silver platter, and he wants me to give it to him and you as well. You will never see the light of day again until you're saved by the clutches of that black demon"

Tears dripped on the leather of her seats as she looked down at her lap. Her vision blurred more as she realized the saddening depth of her situation. "I never knew...you were—

His hand shot out quickly as he reached for her jaw and tightly held it in his grip. She cried out in surprise and then in pain as the pressure from his unbreakable grasp increased as he looked at her with eyes of annoyance. "There are many things you don't know about Emilie, dark things that would forever change the way you look at life for years to come, but you are shielded from those truths because I protect you out of obligation to your mother. If it means I must keep you under your father's wrath then I will do so..."

"You claim to want to keep me safe yet you'll keep me with that tyrant on a rampage for power!" She snapped at him.

He released her chin lightly and she rubbed the sore spot. Sebastian was done talking to her for now and he found that a weight off his chest had been lifted at the fact that Lili now knew what he was really like—how vulgar and ruthless he really was. Lilian had died not knowing who he was underneath the surface, and somehow he felt as if he was making up for it now by scaring the life out of her only daughter with the truth.

His legs led him to the other side of her warm car as he opened the passenger door to it and sat inside. She bristled at his close proximity and did her best not to look at him directly, there was a stranger in her car. "It's time to go. Your time of frolicking is over and your father is out for blood"

Her hands connected with the steering and he didn't miss the way they shook as she removed one to turn on the ignition. "Yes, he's only out to spill mine"

Sebastian looked at her from the corner of his eye and let her comment hang limp in the air, instead he tried to reassure her through further scaring her much to his now no knowledge of human emotion. "I would never let him kill you"

_But everything else under the sun is fine._ Her once allied butler looked at her expectantly and she sighed while stepping on the gas. She pulled away from the nearby curb and passed a green light. The whole way home was a long and quiet ride, and a small trickle of sweat slowly made its way down her back.


	7. Chapter 7

Dance the Dance of Death

**Chapter 7**

As far as Lili could tell, she was completely numb from the waist down, and her rib cage felt as if it were punturing her most important vitals. It was painful for her to gulp down air as her throat constricted painfully at her attempt and more tears fell from the corners of her eyes.

The other maids were forbidden from wrapping her bandages and caring for her wounds, although, the young blonde was sure they were all worshipping whatever God they believed in over the fact that it wasn't them that her father showed his attention to.

**:::**

When she got home earlier that day, she wasn't surprised by how angry her father was. She hadn't stepped inside her home five strides before the hulking figure of Edward towered over her and his strong arms snatched her up. Her scream sounded loudly like a bell toll as a knee-jerk reaction and immediately she began to beg for her father's forgiveness, but he was far too disgusted with her—all he saw in front of him was her mother. He tore the clothes off her back and threw them on the floor, thousand dollars worth of material just lying in tatters across the floor.

She sat naked and bare on the floor at the feet of her father and shivered at the cold the marble floors sent through her. Glistening blue eyes then looked slowly up at the mural of her mother before Edward descended upon her as he often did in actions of lewdness, brute force, and hair pulling, further scarring his daughter more than she would ever be.

Now here she lay on top of her sheets completely nude and planked. She hadn't showered since that night because her father told her she couldn't, in his words: _"Only pure women get to shower, whores will stay dirty no matter how much they scrub"_, she could no longer cry after what he'd said. She was still mulling over the fact that noises of pleasure came from her mouth as he stared hard at her from between the valley of her thighs. Her fingers pulled at his roots until she shivered all the way down to her toes and the white of her eyes showed.

"Is this the spot where he was? Did he lick you here too?" He said as he lapped.

She squirmed and he held fast to her fleshy thighs, keeping them in a grip in which she would never escape from as long as he was the one holding on to them. He plunged his tongue inside and her eyes flew open, her mouth popping open in ecstasy. Her juices flowed along the sides of his mouth and the tickle of his facial hair made Lili moan once more. He grew hard and wasted no time in wiggling out of his white slacks to push himself inside of her tight walls.

It didn't dawn on her that she permitted those sounds to come from her mouth until he began to chuckle darkly when he finished. She had proven his point without her even knowing and without him even speaking what she herself proved to be true. He had stared down at her huskily as she laid sprawled on the floor in her own filth and his own, not even taking into account her ugly sobs and emotional pain so deep that it wrecked her body with violent quakes. He turned his back on her and left her to herself. There was no need to haul her upstairs himself knowing that she wouldn't attempt to go anywhere in her state.

In the end, it was her that picked up her limbs and tired body and walked upstairs. Wood creaked softly underneath her weight and her soft hands lightly placed themselves along the banister as she went up. Her hair, tousled and tangled after her father continuously yanked on it, hung in broken strands around her shoulders and back. She finally reached her double doors and gently closed them behind her as she entered her room. It took everything in her not to fling herself onto her bed knowing the very action would insure she would be in more pain, so she stuck to the painfully slow pace she set towards her bed.

As soon as her face hit the surface of her sheets, she was out like a light. Unconscious from the merciless beating her father gifted her with.

**:::**

Some hours later as she remained undisturbed her eyes flew open and she was awake. Minutes had bled together and she couldn't even decipher what time it was even as the sun began to set from the view of her windows.

She tried wiggling her toes and she relaxed a little as she realized the action didn't cause her pain. Her limbs went next and a feeling of relief surged through her as she didn't feel any pain from there either. She sat her torso up and stretched, feeling bones pop and creak back into place.

Lili looked longingly at her bathroom archway and she jumped when her room door suddenly opened to reveal Sebastian. She turned away from him and covered herself modestly as she unconsciously shook in nervousness. He hadn't bothered to knock nor announce himself and he was also wearing just his slim, black butler pants, black polished shoes, and pressed white button up with the the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. In his hand was a plain black shopping bag with white wrapping paper sticking up at the top.

He jostled it a little to get her attention and smiled inwardly as she peeked behind her to look at him without exposing herself. "What are you doing in here?" She questioned.

"It's been brought to your father's attention that your fiancé is hosting a bachelor party for one of his employees at Mishima Zaibatsu and he wants you to make an appearance"

He tossed the bag to her and it landed at her dangling feet on the other end of the bed. She looked down at the object and narrowed her eyes. "Can I shower?" She asked spitefully.

"You may" Sebastian permitted.

She took her chance and hopped off her bed, no longer caring that Sebastian was still standing in her room as she crossed it and headed towards her grand bathroom.

* * *

**—12:30pm—**

An irritated Jin was not a good thing at all. The space around him was visibly chilling and his employees, plus some of Kazuya's, made a point not to stand near him or anywhere in his general vicinity. Everyone knew it was his biggest pet peeve to be kept waiting or having him scramble to get something prepared when the deadline got pushed up for no good reason. Well, the latter is what occurred that evening.

Jin was at home, doing absolutely nothing other than relaxing and having Nina check in on him every once in awhile before he got a notification on his phone. It was a forwarded message from the engaged employee who the party was for and he groaned while opening the text. The content read as shown:

_'I'm so sorry guys! But we have to have the bachelor party tonight! My fiancé wants our wedding date pushed up so that means the party must get pushed up as well. There isn't any other day I can do this so it has to be tonight. Please make this happen for me guys' ~Kaito._

To say Jin was mad was an understatement. He was up and down on his decision to cancel everything he had to do that week and went from okay with it to not okay with it, back to being okay with it, and now he no longer had the choice anymore. Even if he suddenly wasn't okay with doing nothing anymore, he didn't have the decision to call in some work from Nina because the stupid party was now instead of later.

"Goddamnit" he muttered while getting off the couch.

Before he could even take two steps towards his bedroom to start getting ready, Nina suddenly appeared and Jin's heart jumped in his throat. His hand was inches away from her neck and her cool eyes met his hand in question, her eyebrows raised. He sighed and dropped his hand back to his side.

"Nina," he said her name slowly. "I recall telling you not to do shit like that in my home, I really considered killing you just now"

She cocked her head to the side at his comment. "Then who would do your work for you? ," she walked past him and sat on a barstool that wasn't too far from him. "I got the message from Kaito"

He sighed more and rolled his eyes, right, he was suppose to get dressed. "So did I"

Jin walked away from her and felt eyes on his bare back. His naked feet padded their way softly down the dark hall and into his large, white carpeted room on the right. He was at least glad he didn't have to shower again since he already did so earlier, with that thought in mind he went straight to his closet.

Jin's closet probably closely resembled a fashion runway, despite the man's tendencies to ignore or overlook the popular brand names that everyone else wished they could afford to wear. The plush carpet underneath his feet was a light cream and sank between his toes as he made his way towards the left side of the room, the shirt side. It wasn't anything formal so he grabbed a white pressed, long sleeved button up and a black blazer, then walking over to the right side, grabbed some dark jeans. Oh how he loved his jeans, he probably had more different colored jeans than the average male but that's what made up for his lack of want in popular names of clothing.

He dropped the clothes he picked out on a nearby sitting chair and shrugged off his long black sleeping pants, revealing his deep purple briefs. His leg was just entering the left jean leg before Nina decided to walk in and calmly stand at the doorway of his closet. Jin stopped what he was doing momentarily and looked up at her, narrowing his eyes as he did so. There was no need for him to explain to her why she was in the wrong in this situation , it was fairly apparent, and she knew so which is why she didn't utter a word.

Sighing, Jin resumed pulling up his pants and letting them sit right on his waist and reaching for his shirt before the blonde herself snatched the article of clothing up. Knowing what she was going to do with it, he bared his back to her (as well as showing a sign of trust through body language) and let her slim fingers guide his white shirt over his arms and across his shoulders. She walked in front of him and didn't hesitate to button his bare chest away from view, of course leaving a couple of buttons undone the way he liked.

He sat down in the now empty sitting chair with his sleep pants neatly hanging over the back of it, onyx eyes watching his blonde protector as she quietly looked for some shoes to put on his feet. His eyes followed the sculpt and curve of her naked calves, her thighs, and her rump accentuated with the tight gray business skirt she wore below the slightly poofy white button up she wore herself. It suddenly occurred to him why he hadn't thrown a glance at her sooner and notice how attractive she was. Nina was by no means a plain Jane, she's an eye-catcher, so what about her made him overlook her as if she were any other woman?

"You should get that looked at" Nina said shaking him out of his own thoughts.

He ran a hand through his hair. "What are you talking about?"

While standing on top of a stool to get a better look at his collection of shoes, Nina didn't miss a beat and pointed to the side of her neck. The hair on the back of Jin's neck bristled and he felt a sudden need to defend the mark's right to be where it was.

"It's nothing serious" he calmly told her.

She paused her actions for a moment, looked at him blankly and the mark on his neck, before returning her attention to the first pair of shoes she grabbed, Jaques Villeneuve burgundy bun shoe Derbies and calmly tossed the pair to him. He looked at them and nodded his head in approval.

"At least cover it. Rumors get started very quickly on your side of the building if I may add" she told him.

He paused while lacing up his shoes in thought. Nina usually dropped certain subjects when it was clear he would no longer speak on the matter, but for some reason she was pressing a little too deeply and even going so far as to tell him what the outcome would be if someone were to see it.

"There's nothing to be concerned about. My employees are human, and humans talk and imagine things. It's natural. If they see it and start to talk it will have no affect on me" he told her simply.

Feeling satisfied with his answer, Nina finally pushed the topic out of her mind. But it was curious. She didn't see him tailing along with any woman, nor did she see a woman tailing after him and yet there was a bite mark on his neck that suggested a sexual rendezvous. If he wasn't worried about it then neither was she, and besides, it wasn't like it came into direct conflict with his life either.

Jin stood and shrugged on his blazer before walking back down the long hallway and into the kitchen where he left his keys. Snatching them up, he made his way to the front door before glancing behind him to see if she was standing there and low and behold she was.

He frowned. "You're wearing that?"

Her head tilted, reminding him of a puppy. "If someone intends to make an attempt on your life during this event I have to be ready"

Jin failed to see how a business skirt, button up, and short heels qualified as something being comfortable enough to fight in but he left that up to Nina and walked outside into the night air and to his truck. Nina's heeled footsteps led away from him and to her deep red Audi R8 where she turned on the ignition and peeled off towards the office, Jin figured she would meet him there.

* * *

**—12:35pm—**

Onyx eyes shot open and haggard breaths could be heard aloud in a cold bedroom. Kazuya now lay awake in a puddle of his own sweat in his bed and he laid a hand against his chest, feeling the erratic and uneven heartbeat. He assessed his familiar surroundings and would've sighed in relief had it not been for the sharp pain going across his chest. Screams of agony echoed from his throat as the feeling of his blood boiling began to be too much for him and he searched frantically for the one thing that would calm him.

Finding it lying on his nightstand next to him, he reached for the syringe that had an opaque almost silver look to its fluid and plunged it deep in the middle of his chest, pressing down on the button on the top to release the cool, soothing feeling liquid. The burning sensation stopped and calm spread into his body. Tiredly, he withdrew the now empty syringe and threw it disdainfully off to the side before laying back down fully on his king sized mattress.

His chest was bare and practically glistening with sweat and his dark hair stuck to the sides if his head. The elder man wondered what happened to make his devil gene act up so much and why in his sleep of all times for him to have an episode. It was good thing he had an emergency dosage lying next to him just in case, or he would've died right then and there and no one would've known except himself.

A vibration in his sheets made him reach around with his hands and eventually he grasped his phone, still buzzing its little head off. He slid the lock to the right on his phone , entered the passcode and read the message. Eyes narrowed, he finished reading the forwarded message that somehow made its way to his phone when he wasn't even planning to go to the stupid ass party. Whoever's bright idea it was to send the notification to his phone was a dead man by tomorrow afternoon, that's when he remembered who also received an invitation to the little get together.

At the thought of entertainment for the night, a smirk caressed Kazuya's face as he hopped out of bed and made his way towards his shower.

**:::**

A fluffy white towel hung low around his waist as he toweled dry his dark locks in his steam filled bathroom. Mist clouded up his mirrors, obscuring his self image, but the man was arrogant enough to already know he looked gorgeous and God-like. He wiped at the mirror sitting in front of him to comb and style his hair and grimaced at the blue veins making themselves visible across his skin, side effect to the dosages, but a light price to pay to stay alive. He grumbled something incomprehensible and proceeded to his bedroom where he found his outfit for that night already laid out on his bed for him to wear.

One of his eyebrows rose in question as he stopped toweling his hair and looked around the vicinity, both of his hands hanging on both ends of the damp towel itself around his neck.

"I think you'll look sexy in that tonight" a sultry voice purred.

Kazuya inwardly groaned. "Anna..."

"The one and only" she cooed while stepping out of deep shadows.

He rose both eyebrows at her attire. An inhumane short black dress that had a slit on the side extending up to her hip, where the bodice showed off her bountiful cleavage in a halter top fashion. Kazuya could only sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose. There was no way he would be seen walking into the building with her looking like that.

"You picked out my clothes" he said flatly, irritation a clear emotion in his words.

She waved the matter away with the flick of her hand. "You look sexy in anything you put on, I just threw something together that would only prove that fact"

Ego now fully groomed and pampered, Kazuya found that he couldn't fault her in anything she said. He agreed with her and he was sure the most of Mishima Zaibatsu would agree with him (the females that is, just the thought of men thinking of him that way made him cringe), she knew just how to twist her words enough to please him and it worked every time. He dropped the towel from around his neck as well as the one from around his waist and couldn't help smirking to himself when he heard Anna suck in a breath and hold it there.

**:::**

Cool air assaulted Kazuya's face as he looked out the window of the limo he sat in and he inhaled. He was almost jittery with excitement as he pondered over the possible results of tonight. He could only picture Jin's furious or confused face and he would be forced to take action, how would he go about it?

He was close to telling the driver to go faster when he caught something in the corner of his eyes catch his attention. It was just Anna leaning on the windowsill of her window near him and avoiding his gaze as he looked openly at her. She almost seemed to squirm under his gaze and even went so far as to turn her body away from him. Kazuya was shocked. Was she really shy about him now? He was sure that after he carelessly dropped his bathroom towel from around his waist that she would practically jump his bones, but what he got was an unusually quiet Anna who could hardly look at him.

It started subtle at first, the deep rumbling from his chest, but then it turned into outright chuckling as he held his head in one hand. Anna was really all talk and her reaction to him only proved as such. If anything she probably had little to no experience with the opposite sex whatsoever and that all in itself was hilarious to Kazuya as he remembered all the times where she would shamelessly throw herself at him.

Eventually they slowed to a stop in front of the lit up building and Kazuya chuckled more as Anna practically scurried out of the limo and away from him. He shook his head and stepped out of the limo himself, patting the trunk lightly, and watching the vehicle pull away and towards the large parking lot behind the building.

* * *

Jin was absolutely sure Kaito didn't know this many people for one measly bachelor party, and he also knew for a fact that most of the man's paycheck went towards the skimpy dressed female dancers that threw him looks that meant promising things behind closed doors.

Nina had disappeared earlier on when he first arrived inside and Jin knew that she would appear when it was time to leave. He was applauded at when he first stepped on the scene inside and that was when he knew that some of people attending the supposedly small bachelor party were high end and pretentious, people whom he was dead set on asking Kaito about when and if he saw him at all.

A woman wearing electric blue pasties and the same color lace thong walked over to him with a silver tray held right below her bountiful mounds. "Would you like a refreshment?" She asked in a sultry voice.

Jin inhaled momentarily and immediately smelled the alcohol in the beverage. He could've wrinkled his nose in disgust had it not been for him thinking the action would morph his face into something ugly.

"No thank you" he smiled at her politely. He could practically see her heart melting on the floor beneath her red-bottom heels. She returned the gentle smile and scurried away, quickly and almost clumsily offering drinks to others who didn't care what she did as long as her body was on full display.

Jin had considered getting a drink much earlier that night, but thought better against the idea knowing that what was put in most alcoholic consumptions didn't mix well with his devil gene. He could remember unpleasantly how much his throat seemed to throb and clog up with mucus because he had one glass of Chardonnay. The affects of alcohol mostly lasted about a week if he wasn't careful so he decided to just cut the drinks out of his life all together. He didn't know how his father did it though, and must've had a iron liver by now.

His dark eyes assessed the atmosphere and crowd around him, grinding bodies meshed together of both sexes, women of entertainment seeming to lurk around his proximity but not getting close enough to speak to him; trying to draw him out of his cold shell, and from afar, the murmur of whispers and onlookers awed and surprised.

The crowd began to part like waves all the way to him and Jin was given full vision of his father, Kazuya, making an appearance with Anna no where in sight. His hands were in his pockets and the way he strode to where Jin was, was casual yet regal at the same time, something Jin knew to be untrue. There was nothing "_casual_" about his father. Even the two thousand dollar navy blue suit he wore was anything but casual, and that went for the Marc Jacob soft leather beige lace up's he wore as well.

Jin could feel his right eye twitching in annoyance as his father approached and everyone's eyes seemed to follow after him in admiration and respect. Of course Kazuya already had a glass of what smelled like Smirnoff vodka (or maybe Grey Goose if Jin's nose was right) in his hand, and held it at his side gracefully careful not to waste a single drop on anything that he was wearing.

"Quite the bachelor party," Kazuya said as he looked around, his eyes following after an entertainment woman wearing a yellow colored lace thong, before smirking slightly. "there's no way Kaito knows this many people"

Jin nodded his head in agreement (also finding it uncanny that his father seemed to pull the earlier thought out of his head and say it aloud) and was now starting to regret not accepting a drink when it was offered to him. With his father stopping the party for a moment to make his grand entrance, the younger male had never yearned for a throat burning liquid any more than he did at that moment.

Then something else happened. Something else that made Jin's yearn for Chardonnay even stronger. His younger cousin pushing her way through the crowd of men that grouped around her, wearing a stunning blue and black one shoulder dress that stopped right above her knees with a sheer black covering extending down to the tops of her feet.

To normal people, Asuka Kazama, cousin of the infamous Jin Kazama is one of the few champions of the most recent Iron Fist tournament which made her famous enough and not to mention her association with her elder cousin, so the excitement about an A-lister like her showing up was something of a big deal, but a pain in the ass for Jin.

Jin happened to glance at Kazuya one time before double taking at the small but noticeable smirk twitching on the sides of his mouth. _The bastard planned this._ A fury brewed deep within Jin as he confronted the elder man.

"As much as I dislike you, I dislike your games even more which peaks your bland entertainment. Why the hell did you invite Asuka to something like this?!" He angrily questioned. He scoffed when Kazuya did nothing but smirk in delight. "And why the hell are you even here? You said you couldn't be bothered to attend something as trivial as this yet here you are"

Kazuya downed his shot glass and finally turned to Jin who still had a displeased frown on his face. "Just like everyone else here I came for entertainment," he swiped a beverage from a passing silver tray as another female dancer passed by and handed it to Jin who took it with indifference, clinking his glass against his son's as he did. "And not the bland kind"

The devil politely excused himself and left from sight once he saw Asuka standing behind Jin before said man could say anything else. Jin softly groaned and turned around once he heard the impatient tapping of Asuka's foot behind him. He looked into her eyes and saw more hurt there than yesterday, it was a blind rage then but now it was an almost soft betrayal that he actually felt bad for.

He didn't necessarily have a stable nor consistent relationship with his younger cousin but he did at one point a long time ago confided in her his emotional standing with Kazuya, and she listened attentively until he was finished and hugged him tightly as a response. Jin supposed she was still hanging on to the moment of weakness from him, but what she probably already figured out was that she was never going to see that version of himself ever again.

"I figured you would probably be even more busy at a party but a little birdie told me you have absolutely nothing to do," she shrugged lightly at the atmosphere and he found himself softening a bit for her. "I know this isn't really your scene ,but we can always go to your office and talk" she suggested.

Jin's mouth tightened a bit almost forming a frown, but he suppressed it. It wasn't going to be easy for him, but he decided at that moment to start trusting his cousin enough to tell him things, explain him self to her, and stop stepping on her feelings when they were clearly for the betterment and advancement for him. He figured he didn't know what it felt like to be cared for ever since his mother...died.

* * *

At the moment Kazuya watched as his son and niece headed towards the scarcely populated hallway going back towards the offices and cubicles. He smirked at the scene before his attention was momentarily taken by the light tug on his suit sleeve. Turning and staring down at the skimpy dressed woman, the same one who caught his attention earlier with the yellow lace thong.

Now that she was closer to him, he could clearly see her features up close and mused lightly to himself that she was indeed a cute little thing and he towered over her more than the average woman. Her hair stopped in the middle of her back in thick brown curls that framed her oval shaped face lightly. Hazel eyes brought out the mocha colored skin that adorned her flesh and Kazuya found himself staring.

"Would you like a drink?" She asked in a flirtatious tone.

He took one off her tray and nodded his head at her in thanks. She returned the incline of his head with a small smile before sauntering off elsewhere with his eyes trailing after, he licked his lips and wondered how old she was.

Another commotion, bigger than the one he made started with surprised gasps from females and outrages hoots and cat-calls from males. Flashes of light going off from phones as many people took pictures of the newcomer made Kazuya squint his eyes to get a better look at the assailant that attempted to take away his limelight, but what he didn't already know was that as soon as the Rochefort heir stepped on any scene the spotlight would remain on her.

She wore a skin tight and elastic Vintage Chanel Rouen Knit dress. Her midsection was clear to see through the sheer fabric of her dress and her long cream colored legs were on full display. The black and gold strappy heels perfectly curved around her feet and made her seem as if she were a mile long and her usual waterfall blonde silk hair was put up in a genie ponytail. The eyeliner around her eyes made her icy blues seem even more intense than they always were without the makeup.

Kazuya watched the young girl with an intensity that was surprising to even himself. Every curve of her and mannerism reminded him of her late mother who was an exact copy of the daughter except older and more warmth to her eyes. She seemed to cut through the crowd with just her eyes and she finally spotted the man she was looking for standing off to the side by his lonesome with an empty shot glass in his hand.

Long legs glided across the marble floors with purpose in every step. A small smirk could be seen playing at her lips but it was a Mona Lisa, something that could easily be mistaken for a frown or grimace. Hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as she got closer until finally he could see the specks of gray in her eyes. Before she even said anything to him, his eyes assessed the whispering crowd around them and already he could see the rumors start to fly. Lili seemed to notice it too and rolled her eyes.

"Well now that you've made the entrance Jin's employee Kaito will never forget, I'm sure you didn't come here just for that purpose" he told her.

A slender hand went up and caressed the tips of her tight ponytail. "I came to see you..." Her eyes assessed the empty space around him. "Considering your conjoined twin isn't around"

He nodded his head and led her away with his hand on the small of her back.

* * *

A/N: I made this one extra long specifically for Cat-chan who is ever so loyal to me and this chapter is just for you! This is my thank you for sticking up for my work that I worked hard on. Also just as a reference look up some of the fashion in this chapter on google images just to get an idea of what everyone is wearing. You won't be disappointed unless you really have an idea for this things of course lol.


	8. Chapter 8

Put Out Your Hand Please

**Chapter 8**

Two powerful people sat in front of each other. A man and a young woman both powerful in their own right except one was impossibly trapped under the thumb of another and would only be set free with the help of the man's son. The other man had an dilemma too, and that decision relied on his sinking company that would fall without the young woman's help.

_The King and the Queen on the chessboard were strong enough to stand on their own, but wouldn't survive without the other._

* * *

"I couldn't help but feel pitiful for you during that meeting," Kazuya mused while crossing his hands, "to be forced into something absolutely toxic for you just to escape something just as toxic. A catch 22"

Lili's mouth went thin and her blue eyes turned to ice. "You're lucky it isn't you who has to be with me and it's your son instead. I would make your life a personal hell" she snipped.

A small smirk pulled at the end of his lips. "I have no doubt in your abilities, Ms. Rochefort"

"Please call me Lili...or Emilie, Kazuya" she said while examining her nails.

"And that's Mishima to you brat" he snapped.

Her eyes opened a little in delight. "Oh. Name calling, I didn't know we were so far in our friendship yet. I at least thought we were on a first name basis"

"You and I are far from friends little girl," he said with a snort. "You wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for our reserves being bled almost completely dry, otherwise I would kill myself before going to your greedy father for help"

She snorted herself, forsaking the ladylike grace she had when she walked in. "Arrogance doesn't look good on you Mishima, but that's what your family is known for I suppose. You all could have gone somewhere further had it not been so, I've heard the stories"

Kazuya's mouth quirked and he decided too soon to hit her where he knew it would hurt. "And what about your father? Hmmm? He seems to only go somewhere far from all of us when he's burying himself in your body"

He watched slowly as her jaw locked and her blue eyes froze. For a moment he thought he saw water coming ,but it was only for a moment. She softly cleared her throat and remained silent for a minute longer, letting her anger and despair hang in the air thickly before speaking, her added spite now sucked away from her tone.

"Everyone has their demons...you know this better than anyone" she said with a knowing look. "My father is a despicable man...I don't know what my mother saw in him" she said aloud with a far away look.

Kazuya didn't regret what he said to the young girl—actually he sort of did. No one went around reminding him just who's fault it was about the abrupt passing of Jin's mother, not even Jin himself so what gave him the right to shove the girl's personal life back in her face? Especially one so painful that even Kazuya couldn't imagine. Truthfully speaking, he didn't know what Lilian saw in the bastard either.

He began to speak to her again, surprising himself with how gentle his voice had become. "What do you want from me?"

Her eyes looked directly into his and they held each other's gaze momentarily. "Well considering that now we are going to forever be involved with each other indirectly, I need your help"

If the young woman was anything like her mother, Kazuya knew that her even coming to him at all for his help with anything was an incredible sign of trust, or just simply because of the fact that she was incredibly desperate. He was thinking of the latter.

Kazuya didn't pressure her to speak her mind (although he was a very impatient person) and knew that someone with that much pride within themselves would find it near impossible to ask anyone for help, especially from someone they didn't particularly care for. The elder man was almost the exact same way except he was mature enough to ask for aid when it was certain he would fail if he did not, the girl in front of him more than likely wouldn't care if she did or not, but her happiness was on the line. She was dependent on him and he knew that.

"Help me destroy him.."

His mouth quirked in delight at the proposed demise of his most troublesome advisary with the future help of Edward's most treasured weapon that would be used against him. The girl was a double-edged sword with poison on both tips.

"in return...when my inheiritance is rightly bestowed on me, I'll keep your company afloat until you no longer need of me"

Kazuya could purr like a chesire cat. This was more than grooming his ego, this was a full blown satisfying and securing his desire and need. As he once discovered, he could care less for business and all that entailed with it, but Mishima Co. was similar to a relic in his family—a very old relic. He had to be sure of its survival for his own sanity and approved highly of anyone risking anything for the sake of the same company. The fact that the girl in front of him was very well risking the relationship (or lake thereof) and her freedom had him looking at her in a different light—a light all its own from her mother's who was overwhelmed by Edward's.

He wasn't completely blinded by her words and heard her clearly when she specifically implied that the oblivion of her father meant the safety for his company—which meant to him that she wasn't asking for his help just to save his business but to save herself as well. It was killing two birds with one stone for him—mostly three with another added plus of her pretty and well known face being added to his list of people he was now associated with.

"You'll have to tell me everything you know about him from beginning to end. His life, of much of it that he's told you that you know for a fact aren't lies, his business and your tasks within it, the amount of money each and every reserve contains, and everything else that may prove useful to me in cutting him loose from the world of business," he paused and stared deep into her eyes that reminded him so much of her father's, "If you want me to help you, you're going to have to tell me things you wouldn't want to tell anyone else. If you want to truly break him, then you must lower yourself to me first to expose his ugly face he refuses to show"

He left his words purposeful and heavy in the air between them and watched as the strength of them seemed to lift her a bit more after he recently tore her down for rebuffing him.

Her lips pursed in thought, perhaps trying to figure out how to word her story to him and she sighed. "If you're willing to listen to my story at all...then I suppose I can trust you not to use this against me in the future..."

And it was then that Kazuya was shown the soft underbelly of the coldest exterior in all of Japan.

* * *

The distant cousins had spent most of the bachelor party time within the cold confines of Jin's office. They talked pleasantly and lightly about Asuka's side of the family and the recent events of her life that even the brooding man couldn't resist chuckling at. He observed how much she seemed to have grown when he last saw her and even commented on the fact and watched her color with embarrassment, to which he smiled.

Jin had to admit that he actually missed having the option to be able to talk to her like this and regretted his hasty decision to send her away from his presence because he felt weak for confiding in her. In more ways than one, he found himself able to remember the peaceful times between his mother and himself through Asuka and the way she talked to him, encouraged him, and no doubt loved him

Asuka felt relieved to finally be in good graces with her cousin once more. It affected her more than she thought it would when she thought she'd finally gotten a glimpse of Jin's interior only to be shot down later when she let him know that he could always come to her for anything and everything. Although they didn't share the deep bond she would've liked, she was still very protective of him as if that fact had changed a long time ago. No one could speak bad about him in her presence at school and the last person that did was still currently in the hospital back in Osaka. She didn't know what she hated more, those that spoke about things they had no knowledge of, or condescending people who literally had it in their heads that the world should bow to them. A familiar blonde popped up in her mind as to who fit that description to the letter and just thinking about her in the slightest turned her whole face into a scowl. Jin was in the middle of a sentence before he abruptly stopped at the change in Asuka's demeanor. He thought swiftly over his past words that may have upset her, but could find no faults.

"Asuka?" he questioned.

She crossed her arms and blew a strand of her hair out of her face. "I just remembered that you still haven't given me an explanation as to why you'll forever be chained to that blonde bimbo"

One of his dark eyebrows twitched in amusement as he was familiar with the lingo, but he had it in his mind to correct his younger cousin on her biased opinion. "...I understand there is bad blood between the two of you" he mused.

Not pleased that he was once again dodging the question that she asked earlier that day Asuka decided to entertain his comment. "How dare you answer my question with an irrelevant statement..."

"I just wanna know why you don't like her, or at the very least can't find it in yourself to tolerate her" he inquired.

Asuka gulped slightly, not really sure how to answer the question now that anyone had bothered to ask. "Ever since she showed up she's rubbed me the wrong way. Her face is everywhere in Tokyo so it was like having royalty walking around my plain school" her eyes looked up to see if she still had her cousin's attention and she was pleased to find she did. "The whole world seemed to pause and stop when word got around about her and I'll admit that I was a it excited too. On tv and commercials she seems like such a sweetheart with a personality of gold and I thought that her and I could easily become friends ,but everyone was wrong...and so was I" she shook her head with a small smile at the memory. "Her heart is as cold as ice Jin. She's not capable of loving anyone around her except maybe for her father, who's an angel by the way, and it astonishes me how she can be so cruel and ruthless with the face of a devil. Everyone at my school hates her"

Jin took in all of his cousin's information and observations on his fiancé with a grain of sand. He would never reveal to his cousin the truth because it wasn't his secret to tell. He was completely disgusted by Lili's snobbishness sure, but her attitude wasn't completely her fault. If anything the fault lies with her disgusting father who took pleasure in her own detest and resentment of him. Her "heart of ice" as Asuka had described to him was a defense mechanism for the blonde, Jin had one of his own himself and had to dig deep within himself to rid of it.

Still, Jin felt the need to reassure Asuka, "My engagement is not based on love Asuka..." He calmly explained to her. "It's a necessity for this company to survive with the little money it has left, which is partially my fault anyway"

Asuka cocked her head to the side in confusion, trying to figure out how anything that happened to Mishima Co. could possibly be Jin's own fault when he was co-CEO of the place. Her cousin smiled gently and waved the matter away with his hand, her trying to figure out something as complicated as his job would only hurt her little mind.

"Anyway, it's mutual between us. Neither of us want this, but...it'll help immensely for both parties" he told her calmly.

Now that the situation was explained to her thoroughly Asuka couldn't find it in herself to be mad with her cousin anymore, but find even more of a reason to hate the blonde haired leech even more. She couldn't find anyone else to blame and of course it had to be Lili's fault, there's no way she was a victim in this as well.

"I find it hard to believe she doesn't want to be with you" she chuckled charmingly. "Every single female in my school knows your name and probably thinks about you when they get home. Some wish they were in my shoes right now"

He colored slightly and shook his head. "Females are...complicated. I tend to stay away from them but they somehow make their way to me"

Asuka rolled her eyes and stood from her seat in front of Jin's desk, patting off her dress of imaginary dust before turning towards his door. "I'm just gonna get a drink, I'm actually parched" she informed him.

He nodded. "Normally I would inquire that you bring me one too but...you know who won't allow such a thing in my bloodstream. I think he detests it"

His cousin shot him a troubled expression at his comment and swiftly left his office afterwards. Jin sighed and put a hand to his forehead, of course he'd forgotten that Asuka had only seen him in his other form one time and was still wary of it. What she dislikes is the way that he brought it up in conversation like it was an everyday common thing—as if it were normal and apart of him.

* * *

Asuka immersed herself back in the still fairly large crowd in the heart of Mishima Co. From what she was told, everything was suppose to be cleaned up and out away by now-virtually spotless. But here people were still dancing and shouting as well as the dancers who no longer seemed to have anymore drinks to offer their patrons and just danced their lives away as well.

In another corner of the room, where most of the A-listers had gathered, Asuka noticed someone amongst that crowd that struck her attention and made her pause. There the blonde bombshell was. What was she doing there? And with Kazuya no less?! Her throat started to burn at the sight of her uncle quite close to the French tigress, his hand right on her back and seeming to be rubbing small circles in her back. The young female didn't recoil or back away from his touch either, rather she seemed to be soothed by his small comfort and intimate action.

Beyond weirded out, Asuka turned back around only to run into the hard chest of her cousin standing right behind her. She searched Jin's face for any sort of calm and found none. His facial expression may have showed signs of sereness to any normal person but she wasn't just anybody to him and could see the torrent of emotion deep within his onyx eyes. She wanted to console him somehow and grew alarmed when he gently pushed her soothing hands away from his personal space.

"Jin.."

He didn't respond to her as he walked away and towards the two regal people standing too close to each other.

* * *

Jin was getting slightly curious when his cousin didn't return for awhile after claiming she wanted a drink. Parties were not a favorite of her's and she hardly knew anyone in his business at all so she wouldn't stop for conversation.

He stood from his desk and walked out of his office, leaving his door open because he knew he would be returning soon with Asuka in tow. What was taking her so long to get a drink? The beat of music bounced off the walls of the hallway as Jin got closer and closer to the heart of the company. He was a bit baffled that no one appeared to have left yet or at least started to leave, but he figured that as soon as the A-listers of the group filed out then the crowd would follow suit.

Dark eyes assessed the crowd with almost perfect perception and five minutes went by before he found his cousin in all her blue colored glory standing in one spot and staring in one direction. His eyebrow rose in confusion as his eyes slowly followed her line of sight and stopping dead center on Kazuya first and then the blonde on his arm.

* * *

She had completely shed her skin for him and felt naked...raw. Her flesh felt bruised and cut all over again and her thighs sore...her left eye black and blue. As the words of her life left her mouth in Kazuya's presence it was like reliving all the terrible moments once more and it was almost too much for her to bare.

He noticed how she seemed to shrink more and more into herself and was surprised at how thick and unbreakable her mask was until she finally took it off herself. When tears started to dabble at the corner of her eyes as she spoke to him, her eyes clouded up and started to resemble the same kind of striking grey Lilian possessed. Red colored her pretty face as emotion seemed to rack through her and his heart began to clench for her when she got to some parts of the story he'd rather not hear. Kazuya asked for the ugly side of Edward, and that's exactly what he had gotten.

Lili sniffles gently, pawing away at the tears that were dripping down her nose and getting on her dress-disappearing into the fabric. She refused to look at him in fear of seeing a pitying look that would mean the end of her if she saw it. The last thing she wanted was the pity of someone else and that person looking at her differently because she had a difficult household life since day one.

It didn't even occur to the young female that they were staring at each other until she blinked and he rapidly turned his gaze elsewhere. Her heart raced painfully in her chest as she saw an emotion of upmost respect for her in his eyes and she had to wonder if she was seeing things. It was hard for her to even breathe the same air as him now that he knew everything, and the person to lend their ear was the most unlikely...she would've never guessed it would be him.

"I was once in the same place as you...and also the same as your father—Edward" he corrected himself. He met her eyes once more and found that her tears had abruptly stopped and she was staring at him with an intensity that almost made the older man squirm. "I was...a victim and an oppressor. It was done to me and I had done it to someone else..." He said almost quietly.

It was no secret that Kazuya felt bad for what he'd done in the past, he was downright shamed because of his actions. No one else knew that he was torn inside over the vivid dreams he use to have or the frightening daydreams that would leave him scrambling for peace at the prospect of reality—not even Jin knew of his personal torment that now lied dormant inside of his sub-consciousness. He felt that he could share that little piece of himself with Lili because she just bore herself naked to him. Kazuya could not and would not leave her with nothing after what she told him with tears coming out of her eyes, a rare phenomenon he probably would never have the privilege to see again. What she shared with him was worth sharing a piece of himself as well, it was only fair, plus he needed to be able to get something as heavy as his regrets off his chests as much as anyone else his age.

"Ah.." She replied softly. "So you know both sides to the same coin," a soft cynical laugh came from her mouth then as she swooped her line of sight over his head and to the blank wall of his office. "In a way, I'm also an abusive person. Verbally of course, but...it's all the same if you're deeply hurting that person and don't care"

An image of Baek's star pupil came to mind in Kazuya's head in response to Lili's words and he had to bite his tongue to stop himself from inquiring about him. "In my case it was Jin's mother, and my father who decided...it would be best to show his appreciation in a different way" noticing how that sounded the elder man quickly cleared up any misconception, "by using his fists of course. Never mind that I was extremely weak and fragile at such a young age"

Kazuya continued his story after a quick swallow of nearby Scotch that he kept in his office for intense moments like these. It wasn't his favorite alcohol, but having it scorch around in his mouth and throat brought him a comfort he wouldn't be able to have without it.

"Jin's mother was..." Kazuya paused trying to find the words. "a magnificent being whom I will never find again in another woman of this lifetime. Maybe some far away distant future I may have the privilege once more, but...I relinquished that honor when I snuffed out that happiness myself when Jin was still young, present and all"

The young blonde female was surprised as she attentively listened to Kazuya's fall from grace involving his family, and would've never conceived of the thought that such a prideful and great man would ever lower himself to tell her anything. It was a touchy subject and one she would never have enough gall to throw back in his face at a later time and such an important piece of himself was tied into his story that she almost felt flattered that he felt obligated to share.

"What did you do?" she asked quietly, deeply immersed in his history.

A cynical smile adorned his god-like face and he shook his head slowly at her. "I think if I told you, the disgust you have for your father would be eclipsed by the disgust you'll grow to have for me"

She shivered at the thought and considered it best if she didn't know what he did and thought back to her decision on not inquiring Sebastian as to whatever happened to her own mother.

"I am not one to lower myself to anyone, especially to a man of your status, but...it seems it would be of great use to me to thank you" she told him as she gracefully stood from her seat.

Kazuya watched as her eyes met his and he believed everything she said, and everything about her life. This was not the same bratty and self-righteous, sheltered by money, little girl he use to know of, but a wounded, strong, and grieving young woman. The outer shell she put on that disgusted him with all of her kind was an after-image of what she had lost when her father would rule over her with the back of his hand, what she would've been had Edward been the mask that he lets the whole world see, and Kazuya had no other choice than to respect the young girl for braving the angry waters of her domestic life for ten years.

He stood with her and nodded his head at her previous comment, not expecting a thanks from her no less, but appreciating the obvious gratitude she showed him. Somehow, Kazuya wanted to comfort her, in his own way and with a method that would at least stay on her conscious that night and leave her with peace of mind when she awakes and what left his lips next would surely make that happen.

"Before, when I would look at you, all I saw was your mother Lilian" he watched as her face seemed to go slightly rigid. "but after knowing you now, I've realized that the both of you contrast like the moon and sun. You actually have the will and want to get out of that toxicity, and your mother was too enamored with a good thought of him. You are your own person, your own woman"

Lili quickly had to avoid his eyes with her own as she felt her face color hotly. She was never told that before and it was as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It had never occured to her in the slightest that she was bothered by being compared to her mother over and over again. Edward mainly was the person to constantly see her mother in her and the young woman believed still that he actually _does _see her mother when he looks at her, tabloid after tabloid recognized Lili as the very essence of her infamous mother and one reporter had mistakenly once called her by her mother's maiden name_'Ms. Celeste over here!' _

Lili wondered where her mother ended and when she individually started_, _but in front of Kazuya—the most powerful man in Japan, he saw her as her own and recognized her as her own. To say she felt refreashed was an understatement.

After staying paused for a moment and realizing that she and Kazuya were staring at each other quite intensely, Lili shook herself out of her personal thoughts and smiled small at him in thanks which earned her a smirk that made her blush prettily again.

"The tabloids will be a madhouse," she announced while trying to diffuse her hot face. "I hope you're prepared for whatever rumor of our non-existent romance to come up no later than tomorrow morning"

He chuckled and walked over to her as she lazily leaned against his cold office door, her small black clutch bag in her hands. "We could use that to our advantage and make your father believe you are getting close to me instead. I think it would please him more if you seem to take that route since he honestly believes that I am more powerful than Jin"

She bristled at his close proximity, before she looked at him with a confused expression to feign her own knowledge of the fact. Kazuya saw the look on her face and went to explain.

"We are the same" he told her simply.

Lili nodded her head in understanding and turned her back towards him to lead the two of them out. He followed behind her and closed his door gently behind them before walking alongside his blonde haired companion.

"Should I be close to you?" She asked him while cutting her gaze in his direction to watch his expression.

He shrugged and put his hands deep in his pockets. "I don't want to get you into trouble"

Either with his son or her father Lili didn't know, but she found herself walking alongside the length of his side and virtually under his arm. He said nothing as he took one hand out of his pants pocket and wrapped that very same one about her waist. Cerulean eyes gazed up at him and it was then that Kazuya remembered just how innocent this girl truly was. Her lips were parted slightly and he blinked twice before looking away from her, and squeezing her hip reassuringly.

They walked down the long and fairly dark hallway in this same position in silence. Kazuya wanted to smirk as he thought of the girl as a little heat box glued to his side as she walked in stride with him and she thought of him as someone who had to be cold-blooded.

"This doesn't mean we're friends" she said with a slight smirk to her words.

He looked down at the top of her head and saw the mirth bouncing around in her eyes. "Far from it little girl"

* * *

A/N: It pleases me how my fellow readers like to assume things in the review area and I just throw a big ole curveball in there and feel so proud of myself doing it. Yes I may have made Kazuya a little OOC ,but in my defense I say I made him more human. His current attitude serves a later purpose in the story and if any one of you can figure out what that purpose is then you are psychic my friend o.O In favor of Kazuya being more "human" in MY fanfiction, I made him feel more obligated towards our Lili-chan considering she told him everything that she wouldn't even tell Jin or Hwoarang had he not have known already. In return for her openness towards him with something so personal, Kazuya decided to do the same not only because he personally felt obligated to but because he wanted her trust and now he has it. They trust each other now, and can't imagine using their personal lives as ammo to hurt the other, other things however, were not completely put off the table.

Lili and Kazuya will still continue to bicker like usual and call each other names ,but because of this talk they will now start to understand each other a bit more and their respect for one another will only continue to grow.


	9. Chapter 9

Seal My Fate

**Chapter 9**

Oiled down magazines were slammed on a table in front of Lili making her jump in her seat. Her eyes grazed over the images on the cover of them and a shadow of a sigh exited from her mouth as she looked at herself and Kazuya fairly close to each other in intimate air. The captioned headline along the bottom read as followed, _"Lili Rochefort seen with Kazuya Mishima of Mishima Co. , secret love affair!"_ for added affect they pulled up a side-by-side of her coming out of a tall building (Lili remembered that she had just came from a photoshoot at the time) and Jin getting into his truck with his signature dark shades on. The magazine was all over the place and apparently her father had gotten multiple copies of them. Sebastian was off to the side of Edward's desk reading the inside of it just to see what inquirer lied about what in reference to Lili's and Kazuya's non-existant relationship. Said girl was sitting in the hot seat and couldn't tell if her father was upset or pleased that she managed to sink her fangs into the elder CEO as well.

"You really are the tramp I thought you to be" he muttered as his eyes never left the magazine cover. "but the difference between you and a regular one is that you just happen to be my daughter, and you're useful"

Lili said nothing in response as her father continued to slander her name in complete filth. None of it could affect her because she knew in comparison to her father's atrocious actions against her and her mother she had the blood of a saint running through her veins. Sebastian kept giving her a questionable look from afar that only meant that he would ask her personal questions in reference to being seen with Kazuya later when he got the chance to be alone with her later and Lili could only sigh in discomfort at the thought that she couldn't deny him either. His complete one-eighty whiplashed her into being subservient to her own servant, it was so ironic it wasn't even slightly amusing.

"You know your duties Emilie, I don't have to remind you of them" he told her dismissively.

She didn't have to be spoon fed that same line from her father to know that meant she could leave his presence. She quickly escaped Edward's office and headed up to her room before he did or said anything else that would require her to stay in his atmosphere.

After finally getting the moment she wanted to herself, Lili laid on top of her soft and fluffy bed spread as the same oily magazine paper grazed along her fingertips. She began to closely inspect what all the media had to say about her apparent relationship with the elder owner of Mishima, knowing she was engaged to another. A very '_angry_' another if his attitude with her later on that night had anything to say about his reaction to seeing the two together.

_'The man could very well be mistaken for being in his early thirties ,but the young Lili Rochefort will always be eternally youthful in the eyes of her captivators and thus makes the whole thing inappropriate_' she read silently. Bright blue eyes widened a bit in amusement as she struggled to fix her face of the wry smile that appeared on it as it was obvious that whoever was speaking on her and Kazuya was quite indifferent about their so called relationship only because of the perception of her multiple male suitors who adored her from around the fashion parts of the world. She knew there would be many people who would rain down words of high judgement on the account of her age and his, as well as the fact that they were seen together where alcohol was involved. Others would undoubtedly defend her simply because she was viewed as the innocent flower delivered from Monaco, and also offer him protection simply because he was highly respected in his world as an amazing business man (Lili wouldn't deny that now he had her respect as well).

The platinum blonde sighed and threw the magazine off her bed and out of sight from any prying eyes (the maids of course, who loved to gossip enough as it was) and found her mind going back to the night of the party and Jin's angry, coal eyes. It was a surprise to her seeing his emotion so clearly and apparent on his face, so deeply he felt this specific emotion, and how much it seemed he wanted to cause physical and emotional harm to her. It was enough to make her shudder. All Lili could do was stare and slightly gape at the wrath that only she seemed to be able to rise out of him and as much as she was surprised at Jin she couldn't help the creeping satisfaction that such a raw emotion was caused because of who's arm she happened to be under that night.

**::**

A strong hand gripped the upper most part of Lili's forearm and the familiar action made her jump and shiver, alerting her companion who was still linked arm-in-arm with her. Kazuya's sharp eyes turned and there his son stood, clearly upset and annoyed, his face also a little red. He smirked under the guise of a frown and whispered parting words to his thin and ample blonde guest underneath him. Her attention turned to him and she nodded; moving away from him so he could depart and he left the engaged couple alone (as alone as two people could be near the end of a party).

"Explain yourself" Jin nearly hissed. "Tell me you know what you're doing and what this could mean should rumors start surrounding this company"

She shivered slightly at the iciness of his tone and his clipped words, her eyes surveyed the area around them and she snatched her arm away from him roughly. His eyes narrowed at her as his arm fell back down to his side. A flash off to his right caught his attention, and he blinked before turning to the small audience their little display created. Spectators were whispering to each other and making suggestive glances at the two of them and already he could see the budding of a scandal tied to his name and his father's in the media. One dark look in their direction though was all he needed that would ensure that at least his name would not be spoken of when it came to how roughly he grabbed his young wife toward him. Soon though a vacuum of space was all that was left for the two.

Jin approached Lili once more, and she created more space between them. "There's a lot of rumors going on about this place that you don't have any knowledge of" she whispered harshly, her blue eyes a silent blaze. "Any rumors that start concerning me will be considerably soft in comparison to the things I've heard"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "That doesn't explain what I just saw" he growled slightly. "The fact that you seem to be avoiding what I've asked of you doesn't put you in a light that suits fairly well"

"It's nothing, alright? I had a meeting with him earlier and he decided to help me completely destroy my father" she gave him a convicting stare. "What you've seen your self is as far as that relationship goes"

Jin rose an eyebrow in confusion, his anger slightly dissipating at her vague words. "What?"

She sighed and tugged on the silky ends of her ponytail. "I just had a meeting with him not too long ago and we both devised a plan to cut my father out of the world he loves so much...the business world. This was part of that plan," she told him while gesturing to Kazuya who was standing a little ways off.

The anger from Jin's face had left as quick as it came. "How would _the both of you _attempt something like that when he's using _you_ to get to _us_?"

"That's where Kazuya comes in—"Jin's frown from the informality of his father's name coming from Lili's mouth had her stuttering to a stop, "—Mishima. That's where Mishima comes in, he agreed to help me in exchange for what I offered him"

"And that was?"

The young blonde opened her mouth to answer before angry stomps in the two's direction drew her attention to the familiar petite brown haired girl from her school.

A fake and pristine smile automatically plastered itself on her face, "A friend from school," she sipped from the drink Kazuya had gotten her earlier. "how lovely"

Asuka's mouth twitched and she looked from her elder cousin to the bottle-shaped blonde in front of her and could only shake her head. "What's she even doing here?"

The petite blonde's eyebrow rose in an amused fashion and she dismissed the both of them with just the swoop of her eyes. "Excuse me..."

She meant to edge her way away from them ,but Jin's vice like grip on her forearm prevented her from going anywhere. "You and I aren't finished," he told her with a growl. "you have to explain to me everything you plan to do with Kazuya"

Lili grumbled something uncomprehensible under her breath and then Jin turned his attention back to his cousin who was more or less asking for an explanation. He sighed and ran his other hand through his hair while still keeping a strong hold on his gently squirming fiance.

"I'll have to explain what's going on to you later Asuka, but as of now I'm pressed for time"

His cousin nodded her head in understanding and although, didn't like the idea of waiting, respected the fact that Jin would fill her in later on the subject. In the meantime, she watched as her elder cousin narrowed his eyes down at the nonchalant model and lead her off back in the direction of his office.

* * *

Jin watched as Nina flipped the pages leisurely of a magazine that had the cover of his father and his fiancé

together at last night's party—one party that would never ever happen again as long as he was alive. He bore holes into the picture and wondered why Nina had taken such an interest in it once she spotted it lying on top of his desk (Anna's way of being a crap starter and wanting to see a show).

Nina made a surprised noise with her mouth and he could see the slight raise in her eyebrows that indicated her slight amusement as well. Jin narrowed his eyes at her in annoyance and wanted to slap the thin booklet right out of her hands.

"What are they saying?" He asked her as the 'they' he was referring to were the sea-hawks known as reporters and A-listers known just for their lengthy opinions on other people's lives.

Her head tilted to the side a little as she met her eyes with his. "You want to know? I thought gossip wasn't your thing.." She replied.

He would've smirked if it wasn't for his foul mood, touché. "Neither is it yours, now on with it..."

"Long story short, it's the age thing that's getting people off—" she bit back a chuckle at his frown, "no pun intended"

His voice fell flat. "None taken. Of course that's what people are saying about the whole thing, it looks disgusting from my line of sight"

Nina raised a well manicured eyebrow at him. "Now you and I both know your father hardly dips in his own age pool when it comes to women, the younger the better or rather—the tighter and more supple. If anything this doesn't come as a surprise"

"He's never gone this low before, so they'll say" he told her in reference to what anyone who wasn't in place of power might've been thinking.

Nina shrugged and returned to lounging in a nearby chair in front of his desk. "Well no one knows the real depth behind the situation. Few rarely do. It's all just a rather well thought out plot if I should commend the girl, her father is a despicable man and the fact that he's so blinded by the fact that Mishima Co. may one day be in his hands sooner than he thought makes this easier"

"So you know then..." Jin mused.

Duh. He felt stupid now for not taking into account that Nina was also at the party as well and had seen everything. She watched everyone with hawk's vision and of course wouldn't miss Lili in the presence of Kazuya. Jin was at least satisfied that he didn't have to meet with his increasingly-irritating-soon-to-be fiancé just to get more information out of her and instead could just ask Nina (who was way more forthcoming with information).

She nodded. "The whole room was practically buzzing when she stepped on the scene, and then she made a beeline for Mishima. That was when I got suspicious and watched closely. They shared a couple of words with each other then, and made their back to the offices; more specifically his on the other side of the building"

He listened intently for the next brief fifteen minutes as Nina relayed to him something similar to what his fiancé told him when he asked her that night. Jin would've felt guilty about silently accusing the young girl of something she had no intention of doing had he not been peeved that she didn't come to him first about her ideas. Once his blonde assistant was done with her observation he mulled over what she said and knitted his brow in thought.

"Maybe you should try getting to know her better. If the both of you can get over your petty prides then you may find that the two of you have something in common" Nina suggested.

Jin huffed and threw her a glare. "I had no idea you were a marriage counselor Nina"

"Not a counselor, just years of experience when it comes to the sometimes fleeting and destructive aspects of attraction" she hummed. His eyebrows rose in surprise at her comment and she slightly narrowed her eyes at him, "I was young and stupid once too, but since it serves to you as such a surprise it indeed was a long time ago"

Jin sweat dropped, completely forgetting that even hinting at her age was the quickest way to spark her irritation. Her anger was a different level all together while the former was plenty enough.

"I'm not attracted to her whatsoever" he huffed, "she reminds me of a school girl in a woman's body and I've seen plenty of movies on the prospect to be frightened"

Nina sighed and placed a hand on her forehead. "It's my job to make your life as comfortable as I can without you dying through someone's attempt or someone taking advantage of you however smart and crafty you think you are. I'm simply trying to help you"

"Well I don't need your help" He more or less snapped. "I'm just fine with women and this one is hardly the full meaning of the word with the way she parades around. Nothing I can't tame when I get the chance"

Nina quieted a little and Jin knew that what she would say next would make him eat his recent words. "You've forgotten that she's already been tamed by another"

Jin's mouth quirked a little at the not-so-little aspect of his future wife. "That's not what I meant"

"So far tamed that her whole personality is quite guarded and not even genuine to the common world, even to you she shows and reveals nothing..." Nina continued.

His eyes grew dark with anger. "Should I repeat myself?"

The room grew silent and cold at the dark truth that was Emilie de Rochefort. Her fiance had not forgotten about her sad and ugly reality, and Nina insinuating any type of sexual dominance over the girl made him feel slimy. Maybe that was her whole point. He did suppose that anyone who really knew the truth about Lili would be offended or angry by his words.

"I'm sorry" he said through tight lips, "but I want her to understand what she does and say can now affect me as well now that everyone knows we are...involved". Saying the word engaged or married tasted weird on his tongue and foreign at the most. He always saw himself continuing to be a bachelor as the years went by but of course fate decided something else entirely.

Nina nodded her head, accepting his apology as gracefully as a queen. "My point originally was you don't know her as an engaged couple should. An obstacle that seems simple in the eyes of someone who's not new to that part of life, but you are and so is she."

"Easier said than achieved." Jin said with a small incline of his chin, "You've provided me with a clear head about this ,but...still I'd rather not"

The blonde shook her head at him. "It would make things so much easier"

"Then I'll think about it" he relented.

* * *

The door closed behind him and he grunted to himself as he loosened his tie from another stressful day at work. He thought he would head down to that little bar he kept seeing on his way home from Mishima Co. but always decided against it because he knew his wife's reaction to alcohol on his breath. Without the alcohol release however, it left said man in an awful mood where the slightest word or action could make him react violently.

A scent of spices and herbs wafted up his nose and his mood lightened slightly at the idea that at least his wife could do something right, that was until he actually walked into the kitchen to see her, and not just her, but his newly found half brother as well who was old enough to make think things he shouldn't. Four pairs of eyes looked up at him as he greeted the scenery in front of him. A bottle of wine on the small table, red to be exact, a glass in his wife's hands and the perpetrator's, a smile slowly disappearing from his wife's face as she came to terms with his sudden early appearance, and the knowing smirk being hidden away on Alexanderson's lips as he drank again from his red fountain.

Kazuya let his breath flow from his mouth evenly before going into autopilot for a moment. "Lars" he acknowledged as he set his briefcase a little too hard on the table in front of him.

"Kazuya," Lars replied back, "it's been awhile"

The dark haired alpha male extended his non-existent fangs. "Still the joker. Three years isn't too long and yet again I find you in my house, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You can thank your lovely wife," Lars said while raising a glass to her (to which she blanched to a deathly pallor) "I realized I was nearby when I just happened to be in the area and I thought it'd be nice to pay her a visit. That was when she opened her doors to me in friendly gesture. We caught up quite nicely."

Kazuya's found his blood slowly boiling ,but he was a scholar at schooling his features. "Well that sounds like quite the party. Almost makes me wish I was invited, but I have a job"

Lars's mouth quirked ,but he held his tongue and opted to sip from his wine glass instead. "Well, I think I've overdone my stay and the best guest always leaves so I'll be going" The dirty blonde stood and looked the petite Jun right in the eyes, "It was a pleasure seeing you again Mrs. Mishima"

The click of the door seemed to come delayed to his ears and all he could see was the shaky doe look in the eyes of his wife. He would ask for an explanation if he was a bit more mellowed out, but the alcohol that wasn't in his system prevented him from doing so. It only took three wide strides to close in on her and she turned her cheek expectantly to the wide palm of his hand. It slammed against her jaw and he could've sworn he heard a distinct cracking sound that didn't gratify him the satisfaction he was looking for.

She yelped and fell against the metal sink next to her, the wine glass that she previously set down fell over and shattered on the ground.

"Another man in my house, sharing an innocent glass of wine with you..." He mused to himself as she knelt on the floor, "what exactly do you suppose me to think?"

He was a do first ask later kind of guy, ambitious and goal seeking, many of those aspects she was in love with he knew, but to rile up his anger so soon after coming home from work? At the time he considered that a righteous reason to earn his hand, but looking back on the memory made him regret every single time she looked up at him from the ground beneath him.

"It was nothing. He was overly pleasant yes, but...nothing short of a gentleman. The way you would behave in another woman's home I'm sure" she told him timidly.

He snatched her up by her hair and she yelped again as her roots protested the brute force. "Are you implying something? Is that where you think I go when I don't come home?" She whimpered under him as he disdainfully shoved her back on the ground. "The nerve of you astounds me..."

**::**

The slap of paper roused Kazuya out of memory lane and his focus shifted not back to the white screen of his computer, but to Anna who gazed at him expectantly. He sighed and looked down at the magazine he already saw earlier that day.

"You're not surprised.." She murmured.

He grunted in affirmative. "My name has been in the media before, and the things they've said couldn't have been anything more than fabricated so I'm not troubled by the meager gossip that they've created"

"Not troubled..." Anna repeated him, "so you don't care at all what people are saying about the two of you? Not in the slightest?"

Kazuya huffed and looked at her with annoyance. "If it's not making me lose money then I couldn't care if everyone around me were talking about it, but since you must know to give yourself comfort it was nothing."

Anna shut her mouth and tightly pressed her lips together. She would've voiced her opinion further had it not been for the unpleasant look sticking to his face like a second skin so she opted to just sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk like a spoiled brat and crossed her arms. He raised his eyebrows up at her in his infamous 'really?' expression and all she did was shrug and look away.

Kazuya sighed and turned his attention back to the computer screen that had once again gained his attention as numbers upon numbers flashed before him, approval statements being needed on another screen, while a business meeting was being held on another that didn't require anyone to talk but to type and he hadn't been for the past ten minutes.

_'Money needed for a new weapon improvement..' He read mentally. 'That has my stamp of approval, however, the brand does not...if I'm to pay for it then my name needs to be on it'_

Anna watched him as he worked steadily, only looking up from the screen when he had to adjust his eyes from staring at it too hard. 'Did he ever catch a break?' She wondered to herself. Her eyes returned to the cover of the magazine, where she closely examined the front and all the details of the young blonde quite close to the serious man in front of her. How could he even tolerate being in the same room as the girl when he detested her family so much? His hand resting above the small of the girl's back in the photo suggests otherwise though, and the lingering question at the tip of her tongue was burning to be asked. He would more than likely deny any type of infatuation with the girl, but his actions showed something unthinkable, and to question what she was seeing was something that was dangerous for Anna because that showed she doubted her own eyes—her own self. _'If it looks like a duck, and quacks like one, then it's a fucking duck' she thought bitterly to herself._

* * *

A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay I know it was absolutely ridiculous and uncalled for. I hope you all haven't given up on me u_u"


	10. Chapter 10

**Straight for the Knife**

Chapter 10

_Scarlet red draped over her lips like velvet and coal as black as the night sky hugged the frame of her eyes and lashes like a soft curtain. She tilted her head back and replaced her blues with silver contacts and watched unabashedly as little tears ran some of her makeup away. Corrections were made and adjustments were done as she turned into a younger version of her mother and proceeded to slip on the delicate red lace lingerie that left parts of her hugged and exposed, nothing she wasn't use to by now._

_Transparent ,black, thigh-high stockings were pulled up, red stilettos were strapped on her feet, and red diamond stud earrings were put in her ears. She looked like every male's wet dream, and yet that did not come as an empowering thought for her. A sigh escaped her lips as she stood and made her way towards a very specific __part of the house with the small smile her father liked to see when she was with him wearing such a thing. _

**::**

_Her mouth opened and out came out the contents of everything she was fed that day. The white porcelain of her bathroom was littered in different areas with evidence of her sex as well as the area between her thighs, the smell clogged the air around her and made her heave again, her scalp was a bloody mess as she tugged at its roots until patches were gone and the stinging from it made her gasp in pain. That night, she fell asleep on the cold linoleum floor of her bathroom and didn't wake until two days had gone by...and by then she was someone new._

* * *

Blue eyes slowly opened to the ceiling of a canopy bed and they blinked twice before the owner of them stirred more in her rest. A sweat drenched Lili sat up from the memory of her fifteenth birthday, and held tightly on to the side of her head. It pounded and the sound of blood rushing around her ears almost made her deaf. She didn't even realize she was panting until she felt the erratic and unnatural beating of her heart trying to escape from her chest. She covered one of her hand's over the source of her troubles, and whimpered quietly._ 'God, what the hell is wrong with me?' _

She groaned, and laid down on her back and began to weep pitifully as her ailments still continued to plague her. Her whole frame racked against itself painfully as the pain swallowed her whole, her hair curling into ringlets from all the sweat that came pouring out of her skin, and a sudden cough brought her to the side of her bed spitting up murky red liquid from the back of her throat. It pattered slowly on the floor as it dribbled from her dry lips and she looked at the little puddle with wide, horrified eyes. That couldn't have been a good sign...she heard that some symptoms of specific and deadly sicknesses involved coughing up blood. Could it mean that she was dying? She went to wipe her mouth of the blood that was still settling along it and was suddenly struck with a distant memory.

She stilled on her bed, her arm still near her lips as if paused in time and gazed around as if she could see her childhood right in front of her. A childhood, of course, that she had little to no memory of. She could see a much younger version of herself, maybe seven or eight, laying on her mother's lap and being disturbed from her calm as Lilian coughed hard into a white lace napkin she had pulled out of the breast of her jacket. The younger Lili shivered at the angry frown that appeared on her mother's face as she stared at the results inside the napkin and then noticed her only daughter staring up at her in curiosity. She smiled and discarded the bloodied napkin from her daughter's view. The older Lili watched as her mother picked up her tinier self and sat her in her lap, her fingers combing through the scalp of her already waist length blonde hair.

"You must never tell your father Emilie, he can never, ever know" she murmured to her softly, but sternly. "You must die with this secret Emilie if you wish to protect me"

The younger Lili nodded dutifully to her mother. "Are you okay?"

Her mother gave her a dazzling smile and kissed her both times on either of her cheeks. "Of course I am darling. Your mother is just a little sick and in time I'll recover and gain more strength"

But she never did. The older Lili looked down the hall of her home and could see the deteriorating strength that seemed to vanish without reason or purpose, then blank...she could see no more and she was thrown back into the present where room remained with only herself in it, her arm still poised next to her mouth. When the limb started to ache, she hurried and wiped her mouth and started to think deeply. Up until then she was comfortable with considering her childhood memories a blimp in existence, but now that she clearly saw her mother in her living state she couldn't just turn away from it all now. She only saw her one time in a memory and was already in love with her, and the thought made her wonder what got her so distraught that she willingly gave up the possession of ten years worth of memory? Her father would never tell her, he hated talking about her mother and would do anything he could to avoid a conversation about her. Sebastian knows what happened surely, but would the information that he gives her solve her wonder or just cast her into more despair?

Lili slid out of her bed and walked to her bathroom and grabbed a handful of toilet tissue and began to clean up the bloody puddle before she even knew what she was doing. She wiped furiously while on her hands and knees and was dismayed to find that it was smearing into the wooden floorboards. There was nothing more she could do now to lift up the faint blood stain in front of her and left it up as a task for the maids to do when and if they decided to clean her room. She discarded the bloody tissues in her toilet and flushed them down before climbing back into bed and not bothering with her hot, sticky clothes, impending exhaustion shutting her eyes to sleep once more.

As the young blonde rested again, the sun just rose over the horizon and shined into the crack of her deep maroon curtains, the beam of light laying gently on her face where pale blue veins showed through her ivory skin.

* * *

_"I own you..."_

_The area around him was completely dark, and the only source of light came from the corner of the room over a lone, wooden desk with a single chair. It must have been a large space considering the fact he could only see the area behind him, the desk and all, but not in front of his face. The only things visible in front of his face were shadows and if he wasn't doubting himself he could see those shadows moving. A creepy-crawly feeling went up and down his spine as he looked wildly about himself. Where exactly was he? He tried to massage his temples to think but his wrists were tied behind him to the uncomfortable chair he realized he couldn't get away from. Something else in the shadows moved and he paused all his movements, just what the hell was going on? It didn't even out his nerves any more than the ropes on his wrists did. His eyes suddenly widened once he could make out a hand reaching for him just beyond the darkness and touch his face with a gentleness he never knew. The hand caressed him, cradled him, and lightly glided over his lips like he was a sculpture or a piece of art._

_He wasn't in the correct state of mind to be calmed by the gentle soothing of the hand, but he found his heartbeat coming to an almost natural pace. But all of that was soon put to a stop once whoever's hand was roughly retreated from his face and someone began to straddle his lap. He began to attempt to buck the person off of him but all was in vain as soon as his jaw was snatched up into the clutches of what was now no doubt a woman. Her liquid silver eyes were luminescent as she stared at him, not once ever blinking which struck a fear in him so strong that he couldn't look away in fear of what she would do if he did. They blinked slowly, as if she were drifting off to sleep, and then they rushed further towards him where he could feel cold lips on his own. So soft...so soft...and gentle her lips were on his, but those eyes stuck with him. Those soul devouring eyes that told him to feed her and give her everything._

_He had kissed her back. Just as passionately as a lover would and those gentle hands came back to caress him again which he just figured to be her hands and wish he could return the favor with his own __appendages. His mind fell into bliss as those clod lips became his undoing and he could feel himself begin to fall asleep until he was yanked into the blinding white light and the coldness of her touch went away._

**::**

Onyx eyes flashed open and Kazuya shot up from his bed like a bolt. He put a hand to his head and waited for his heartbeat to go back to normal knowing that if it didn't he would have a real problem on his hands. The more he tried to remember the vivid dream he had that forced him out of his sleep, the more it danced away from his memory. All that plagued his mind was the vision of silver eyes, cold and beautiful, and just as equally cold lips colliding with his own and making his head swim. It was almost like he could still feel soft hands on him...

He swung his legs over the side of his bed and put a hand to his forehead, trying to will the migraine away before he realized that the pain in his head was the least of his problems and he should be thanking his lucky stars he was even alive right now. Kazuya looked at his dialog clock sitting on his nightstand and grimaced at the midnight to morning time. Even if he went back to sleep now, he would never be able to get into a deep one with the time he was allotted with. It was too early for him to start grooming for work and too late to go back to sleep, so his naked footsteps led to the downstairs part of his home where he would would stay up for the rest of the night.

Not many got to see the interior of the Mishima home unless they happened to be a bombshell female who wouldn't see past his sheets. Still, not many knew of the vastness and every nook and cranny he put his own time and consideration on. There had been many things he changed in concerns to his inheritance. This was not limited to just Mishima Co. but the Mishima estate as well. Past generations of heirs all stayed in the same home, raising their families within which eventually gave birth to the next heir who would do the same. Kazuya broke that tradition when he not only started raising his family elsewhere, but also gave his son his mother's last name and not his own. This ensured that Jin would not be the next heir of the Mishima line, and it also meant that he wouldn't ever be able to own the Mishima home as well. This would've been ideal for the egotistical male had it not been for the fact that Jin was his only son, at least...as far as he knew Jin was his only son. Despite the fact that Kazuya ensured that Jin wouldn't reap the revenue of being a Mishima heir for obvious egotistical reasons, there was also more reasons he want ed to keep the name and the business separate from his own family. Possessing his last name was a double-edged sword and came with as many consequences as it did victories.

Kazuya's bare feet touched the dark mahogany floors and he shivered a little at how cold they seemed to be. His stride was silent as he ventured, the boards perfectly aligned so much so that no amount of time or wear and tear would make them creak or squeak. The tight, black spiral staircase that he descended earlier to get to where he was was the same effect. Soon, he approached his completely open kitchen that stood as the centerpiece of his whole living room, the dining room off to the left, and the sitting room off to the right next to the ceiling to floor windows that showcased the city lights.

During the day, it was beautiful, but during the night it seemed to gather a living vibe that wasn't always good. Creaks here and there that shouldn't even be happening, little pitter patters of water droplets that, when investigated, never existed outside nor inside the house, and not to mention the small, indecipherable whispers he would catch when the house fell completely silent. But all of this honestly didn't phase Kazuya as he stood still in the middle of his kitchen, what bothered him immensely was the feeling of cold hands going up his back and down his chest, stopping, and resting on the area that now throbbed. The touch was familiar, a woman's touch, or at least a young woman, he could tell by the caress, but it only lasted for five minutes before he was let go and the throbbing went away.

He was surprised yes, but not an ounce of fear plagued him (although he would admit he was a little wary). It wasn't new to him that the house he had as of now was never originally his, but was also home to an unknown number of inhabitants that still roamed the corridors of the home. Kazuya blamed his great-grandfather and his father for them, committing vile acts of blasphemy and the like underneath the house and leaving the carcasses there to rot. When Kazuya finally had the home in his possession to do whatever he wanted, he had to have bodies upon bodies, and skeletons removed no questions asked to cleanse his home of some of the more violent ones that still resided there. Now that he was older, it wasn't nearly as bad as it was when he was a child growing up in the house. It was the worst childhood home to grow up in and he could remember having well rested nights only at a relatives house ,but never his own.

The heaviness dissipated even more once most of those had realized that the current heir was nothing of the despicable past heirs and they chose to leave. However, the older ones that held the Mishima name in their vice grips were still there and too cowardly to terrorize his now strong mind, he no longer had the time to worry about what they would do while he slept or what shenanigans they would pull when someone else came into his home. He would just ignore them and that was no fun Kazuya knew. But what he felt earlier was something completely different and new. They never touched him in any way or made a point to interact with him directly, and for the most part he knew that none of them were female. What made him wary in this circumstance was the fact that the caress was still comforting to him.

He stood solemnly in front of his metallic fridge and stared at his reflection, the blurry-ness of it giving him a sort of clarity. His hand ventured to his chest and he felt the indentations there, like teeth marks, deep and painful to the touch. It made him wince yet he couldn't stop fiddling with it and because of it he could remember his short dream in full. The product of his dream had appeared on his chest right above his heart. He looked down just to be sure and there it was, purple near its center and a beat red around the area that hurt to touch.

* * *

"We're here Mr. Kazama"

Jin looked up expectantly from his phone and saw through his window that they were passing through large iron gates and soon winding through the driveway that took them at least ten minutes to reach the end of. He was unimpressed with the European tendencies to display their wealth in such an obvious fashion, but he knew it was no fault of his fiance's but her father's.

The vehicle he sat in finally stopped and this time Jin put his phone in his pocket and glanced at Miguel, his obscenely tall bodyguard, and had to remind himself of how he was able to get the unknown man to do anything for him when it was partially his fault that his younger sister wasn't alive anymore. Everyone had some kind of grudge against him these days. He put the thought out of his head as his door was opened for him by Miguel and Jin watched as he was left alone to walk up the steep stairs to the giant doors that he knew belonged to Lili. He took them one at a time, each step making him re-question his motives for being there and if it was really because he thought everything would go smoother between the two if he got to know her better. If her trust went deeper for him than it did his father then that left less of a chance for Kazuya to take advantage of her._ 'Yeah, that's why I'm here...'_ he thought to himself with a snort.

His arm raised and his fingers found the cold, iron ring set firmly in between the silver lion's jaws. Tightening his fist around it, he tapped it sternly against the tall and wide door in front of him and took a step back from the door to be polite. While he waited, he took the chance to glance around the place and tried to see what was hidden underneath all the glamour and grandeur. What he found was that most of the place was colored completely white with red attributes, and Roman mixed with Greek tastes adorned the mansion of the Rochefort family. From the stories he would hear about her mother from Kazuya, he couldn't see her mother ever taking interest in a place like this, but yet again Edward came to the forefront of his mind on that one. The long driveway was sandwiched between acres upon acres of land that was bursting with colors of all kinds and happened to be in full bloom at the time, it was enough to almost take his breath away at the beauty of it. He could see something far away, so far that he had to lift his shades slightly to get a better view of it. What looked like a small house sat amongst the flowers by its lonesome and that alone made the little boy inside of him want to investigate, but he reigned himself in and returned his attention back to the task at hand which in turn, made a queasy feeling return to his stomach.

Nothing about what he was doing made him nervous, it was the fact that he was 1) taking Nina's advice and 2) at a risk of embarrassing himself in front of the young Lili Rochefort. He would never be able to get from out of her line of fire if he did anything that sparked her humor, she wouldn't shut up about it. She already annoyed the hell out of him, he didn't need to be at the ass end of her silly little quirks either. Nina, on the other hand, liked to play little tricks on him too with her "words of wisdom". He would listen to her and end up making a fool out of himself for her own amusement. Which was by all means, just cruel. He had half the mind to ignore her advice again, but she seemed honest this time in wanting to help his non-existent relationship with his future fiancé.

And here he stood wearing his signature dark blue true religion jeans, pressed white long sleeved shirt, and white Tim's he had recently fell in love with, silver chains jingling down the side of his right leg as he walked, and of course his dark shades that he wore religiously when he went out and he was five seconds away from turning around and yelling at Miguel to step on it before the large doors to his fiancé's home opened to reveal her father Edward, who didn't hide the grimace on his face. 'Yeah the feeling's mutual buddy' he thought back with a scowl.

"My daughter is just getting ready, she'll be down in a moment" Edward told him smoothly. "You'll have to excuse her in advance for taking up time in your busy schedule"

Jin waved the matter away. "Hardly. The office hasn't been in too much of a frenzy lately and besides, I came to see her anyway. It's tradition in my family to spend time with our future brides before we actually marry them"

Jin couldn't help but smirk at the tightness of Edward's jaw as his words sunk in. The man already hated his whole family with a passion, and now because of his greed they already shook on the business deal they made in regards to his daughter whom he was now forced to share with the people he hated most. Edward had forged his sword and fell on it with one simple move that got him a piece of something he's always wanted but at a heavy price.

The tension between the two was something more or less unbearable as the awkward fifteen second long conversation grew to be non-existent and it was just the two trying not to make eye contact. After a few more painful minutes, the female of the hour made her appearance and stood next to her father as he opened the door wider for her to leave. He tried not to stare at her for too long, but she was quite the eye-catcher in her cream colored strapless dress. Her sweetheart neckline accentuated her small, but amble chest and the hem of the dress stopped right above her feet (that were occupied with black flats) and billowed a little at the casual wind. A long black rope settled along the curve of her waist and the ends of it were tied into a soft knot and left hanging along the back of the dress. Her long blonde hair fell in soft waves down her back and her signature bangs was nonetheless perfect as she stared at him openly. The two seemed to have a long staring contest while her father was muttering something to the both of them about having Lili back at an adequate hour, which was just another excuse to keep his daughter pressed under his thumb even though she wasn't in his line of sight.

"Isn't that right Emilie?"

Jin noticed the way Lili's mouth twitched at the sound of her name rolling off Edward's tongue and she curtly nodded her head without another word to him and began to walk to his side. Being the gentleman that he was, Jin held out his hand to the blonde as she began to descend the staircase and leaned more into him as she lost her footing slightly.

Out of common courtesy, Jin held fast to her elbow and hand, causing them both to be closer than necessary. He could practically feel the possessive glare burn through his back as he let the young girl under him lean on him longer before releasing her. However, the thing that filled his vision was her long blonde hair that swished softly as she lead the way to the flower fields, and Jin dutifully followed behind.

**::**

"And here I was certain that you would never leave the confines of your office..." Lili said aloud, feeling comfortable now that she wasn't in the presence of her father any longer. "It led me to believe that you had no life of your own"

The dark-haired male could only frown at her. "The same could be said for you in terms of your tyrannical father, it was near impossible to even get him to consent to letting me see you"

Her eyes filled with mirth. "And how exactly did you manage to do that anyway? He can be quite stubborn when he wants to be"

Jin shrugged in answer. "It was a flat no the first time I mentioned it, but I guess he changed his mind"

Lili blinked as they continued to walk at an even pace side by side and she snorted uncharacteristically. "Edward doesn't _'change his mind'_, even when he says yes and then says no later he really means no. He means what he says when he says it"

Her male counterpart didn't say anything in response to her and glanced at the fields around them, being captured by the sight once more. When her attention of him wavered into nothing, he took the chance to see what he could learn just by looking at her. Jin was well versed in the art of reading people and could tell when people were lying to him. He hadn't mastered reading Kazuya, or Edward for that matter, but he found that the angrier a man got the more his emotions showed. Women were a different story unless they happened to be distressed. He watched the way she moved, the way her eyes seemed to get lost in the flowers around her, and though limited, the way her body moved freely and unapologetically. At the very least, Jin could tell she was comfortable with him and she almost seemed to glow in the evening sun that made the sky bleed red and orange.

They walked silently, no longer hand in hand, but in a comfortable silence. Their thoughts grazed against an idea of the other and neither of them knew they were even thinking about each other. These thoughts did not range on anything romantic, but they verged on something akin to polite curiosity. It was a mutual thing for them to want to know about the other, wanting to know what they were _really_ getting themselves into and not just the idea of what they might be in for. Just the idea of tying the knot to both of them literally disgusted them, nor was it the vision they had of themselves doing so soon.

**::**

Apparently, her family grounds had specific spots of land for certain types of flowers (an attribute her mother arranged when she was still alive, he learned from the petite blonde). Some patches were larger than others and others were intricately shaped while the others were arranged in a rectangular or square shape. The more Jin thought about it, the more he found himself gazing into the distance of the flowers and wondering about them. From what he heard from his father and what he's read about her, Lilian Celeste never did anything for nothing and she happened to favor the only daughter she had. He wanted to inquire about them, but he noticed how she didn't divulge any more information about them than what was required as general knowledge.

_'__Ah, fuck it' He thought. _"Why are the fields like this?" He asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

She abruptly stopped walking and Jin had to catch himself from falling over her. He cringed inwardly and wondered if he did exactly what he didn't intend to happen in the first place, but was surprised when she turned to face him with a passive expression.

"I didn't think you would particularly notice something as trivial as flower beds not being the same shape"

Her tone came out almost monotonous and without emotion, but Jin could clearly see the rawness crawling over her skin in goosebumps and trying to burst free through her eyes.

"It's not trivial to you" he told her simply.

She stared at him before averting her attention down to the wildly growing weeds in the vastness of the daisy field. "This was my mother's last gift to me" Lili gestured to the astonishing collection of naturally growing flowers. "Sebastian told me when I was a child that my mother had left something for me to see amongst the flower beds. She had it done right before she died"

Had she not seen it? Of course whatever the message was had to be seen from aerial view and her father was in an abundance of money so it should be nothing for her to see what was clearly intended for her eyes alone. He didn't voice his question aloud, no not this one, but he this counted in knowing things about her. The more he knew the more he felt would be easier to connect with her on, but she didn't seem to be opening up to him any time soon, and the same could be said for him.

"Shit..."

His head whipped to hers in surprise at her apparent sailor mouth, but her face is what made him look what was ahead of them too. It was a medium-sized mausoleum that was at least the height of his male bodyguard Miguel (who wasn't too far from them, but far enough to give them privacy). Popular Japanese flowers surrounded it and framed it like it was an alter rather than a burial setting. The pillars were made from marble, and the stairs leading to it had no hint of dust or unsightly growth from nature anywhere. It was years old, but the upkeep on it was recent. There was only one person that could've been buried here.

Dark eyes slid over to look at Lili to watch the features of her face turn into something almost ugly. An anger like no other seemed to flare up her face and leave behind a shade of red that resembled a tomato. She closed her eyes and put a hand to her head and sighed, letting whatever she felt rush out of her like water. He was impressed to say the least, a woman's capability to turn her emotions on and off even in the face of impending wrath. She was amazing.

"I haven't seen this in a long time...it's—I'm sorry" she explained, "I hadn't realized it was still here"

Jin's eyebrows rose. "You thought it would disappear?"

"My father has the power to make many things disappear.." Was all she said to that account.

She left him standing there with one foot shifting to the other as she turned on her heel and walked away from the mausoleum.

* * *

A/N: hello everyone! I'm sorry for the wait if it was at all too long and hope you'll forgive me once again u_u comments are appreciated and what you guys say literally have me laughing real hard sometimes. Thanks for the continued support.

Wanna see the dress Lili wore while walking with Jin? I'll put the link up somewhere on my profile under: **When Push Comes to Shove: Deny, Deny, Deny visuals.** Any and all ideas for wardrobe will show up there. I will also put up any visuals from past chapters too so look out for those as well. Happy Reading Guys (^.^)/ ~Sasusakui


	11. Chapter 11

**Marked**

Chapter 11

Kazuya unconsciously rubbed at his chest and winced. It was a sharp pain whenever he touched it and for the couple of days it's been there he hasn't really been bothering with the mark until now. The wound was starting to become more prominent every time he glanced at it and he was beginning to wonder about it more often. It was as if it were trying to remind him that it came out of nowhere and the true origin of it was from his dreams. He almost wondered why his devil gene wasn't reacting to it in someway. Most signs of sickness were quickly done away with if it posed any sort of threat to his life unless it was a side effect to the gene itself. For some reason this mark was left alone.

"What are you doing?"

Kazuya blinked twice and his nostrils flared in anger for being startled out of his thoughts. He hadn't even noticed Jin was standing in his office doorway watching him sort of fondle his chest with a perturbed look on his face, he was committing the act openly at that. It was a good thing only Jin was there to see it.

"You should really wear a bell around your neck..." Kazuya muttered angrily while retrieving his hand out of his shirt.

Jin smirked and walked fully inside his father's office with a small stack of papers in his hand and sat down, slapping the documents on the desk.

"I would continue to seek out the answer to my question, but these are more important. They're from Edward," Jin explained. "I wanted to look over them with you..."

Kazuya leaned forward with interest. "These are the final plans regarding the deal?"

Jin nodded. "For the most part everything still appears the same pertaining to what all was mentioned, but still...Edward can be very wordy with what he seems to intend and what he actually means. This requires more than just my eyes alone"

Kazuya analyzed the look on Jin's face which had a slight squirm-ish facial expression to it that he couldn't help but comment on. "The idea still makes you uncomfortable doesn't it?" He couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped from his mouth. "Being engaged that is"

"I won't have you goad me about the extremely difficult situation this whole thing has got me into" Jin snapped, "just the idea of anything related to arranged marriages is incredibly old-fashioned"

"Painful it seems, but it's something you have to deal with upon taking up the responsibility of owning half of this company" Kazuya brought up.

Jin narrowed his eyes and disdainfully through up one of his arms. "As often as people get married these days you can imagine their reactions to any reasons outside of love for getting married in the first place"

Kazuya rose an eyebrow at his son. He could practically see the young adult in him wishing to return to that normal-ness of a life at his age and having to only worry about what he wished to eat when he got home that day. Kazuya once thought the same when he was younger, but he had no option but to grow to accept his fate and move on which would've been completely optional had Jin given up on his grudge involving his father.

"This was your decision" Kazuya addressed, "there was a reason I didn't give you my name, but still, you decided to make your bed and now you have to lie in it. That also means that while you do so you'll have to make decisions harder than choosing whether or not you'll swallow the pill of knowing you'll be married before you're thirty"

As much as Jin probably wanted to retort smartly to his father he knew there was nothing he could say to get away from the fact that Kazuya was completely right. He let his pride and hurt lead him into the trouble he was in now. He wouldn't say that what he had to do to get to where he was wasn't worth it, but the end results weren't all that much desired.

Kazuya finally looked to the stack of papers still resting on his desk and skimmed over them briefly before setting them down on his desk. "It seems bulletproof enough" he mentioned seriously.

Jin nodded. "Edward signed already"

Kazuya shook his head at the craftsmanship of said man's signature. "Typical. Oversized and over-used. This man knows no bounds, even the way he writes his name shows that there's no area in his life where he fails to show his arrogance"

He signed his signature on the fine print line on the back of the thick packet of paper and pushed it across the desk towards Jin where he would sign as well on the other finely printed line.

For some reason, Kazuya felt as if he should mark this day or something. It was the day that they would save Mishima Co. from its impending doom, the day that would further ensure that Jin was indeed getting married, as well as the day where Edward finally clawed his way into something that belonged to him and his family alone.

"The only thing he cares about is getting a piece of this company and he would rather help us keep it afloat than rather let it sink" Jin commented while quickly jotting down his signature.

"If it were in my best interests I would let this place crumble than see him have any part of it..." Jin crossed his arms and tilted his head at his father, "but as I said, it's not in my best interests. The thought is comforting though."

"He won't have a big enough shove here as it is with the little power that he now has, his changes would be relatively small as well, but still, why can't we just have him killed again?" Jin asked.

Kazuya sighed. "Because the man has many loyal people under his belt that would literally attempt to tear this place down with everyone still inside of it and not giving a shit about authorities. That's also not on account of what Lilian's associates would do knowing that her husband was brutally _taken care of_"

"Lilian's associates?" Jin questioned. "You almost make them sound like the mob" he added mockingly.

"That's because they _are_ the mob", Kazuya told him. "Lilian was well known not only in the business world for her cover up Celeste Beauty Products company, but her underground drug trafficking as well. Her dealings are just as illegal as ours, but far more dangerous. It's something that not even I would willingly dip my hands into. Honestly it's too much of a risk if you ask me, but from what I know most of the Celeste inheritance came from the blood money she earned"

Jin was faintly surprised to say the least. From the picture he saw of her in the Rochefort mansion you would think that this woman was not only strong ,but wouldn't harm a fly if she didn't have to. Suppose that was how she was around her daughter, but outside of her home she was someone else completely. A drug lord that ruled with an iron fist, that is, until she died.

"Drug money..." He repeated, not surprised that it didn't quite sit well on his tongue.

Kazuya chuckled darkly. "Looks can be very deceiving and at first I didn't believe it myself when the rumor floated around to my corner of the world, but that was before I saw her in action. This was after I signed a contract with her that made me a permanent stand in on her affairs pertaining to her cover up company. She place the façade she wanted those she didn't care for to see well, including her husband"

"You never mentioned doing any business with her. Then again, you never mentioned the secret she was harboring either. So how exactly did you see her in action then?" Jin questioned.

* * *

_Papers were drawn and specific professional pens were passed around for everyone to use. The word everyone is used here because Kazuya Mishima literally had his whole business sitting behind him at long official desks, while he was front and center in front of Lilian and her advisors with only himself and his ego to accompany him. He wasn't completely new to this method of partnership agreement, but he still questioned why he needed his whole staff with him. If anything it was annoying at most and really a waste of paper just to have everyone sign an agreement waiver if they approved of him working with her or not, which was a sure thing and if anyone opposed that they wouldn't be able to say a five letter word before receiving their ten day notice (which was actually seven day in reality if you take business days into account)._

_The room they were in, which had to be quite massive to hold the entirety of Kazuya's business staff, was silent except for the frequent heavy breathers that either had to be nervous for being at something so formal or sick (and Kazuya would choose the former). Kazuya was sure everyone behind him had signed the agreement already and were just waiting for something to be said next, and waiting on their next instructions._

_"Hoo," Lilian mused aloud, "my international meeting room can hardly hold the most of your board Mr. Mishima"_

_Kazuya's head raised from the thick packet down in front of him and he met gazes with the beautiful Celeste woman. Her silver eyes seemed to shine under the direct light of the room and he found himself entranced before he could pull himself away._

_"I wonder why exactly should your meeting room be filled to the brim with my company in the first place" he said aloud before he could bite his tongue._

_If he thought it was quiet before, it was definitely more so now. He hadn't meant to say exactly what was on his mind, but before he could catch them they were tumbling from his lips. His mouth went to twitching uncontrollably and he could hardly bear to look the woman in the face any longer and he resisted the urge to small his forehead._

_"Do you find this method an inconvenience to you?"_

_Kazuya had no choice but to look at her now, and when his dark eyes met her face he could honestly say something in him jumped in surprise. It was the first time he ever saw her usually passive face turn into something hard, as if she were suppressing her anger behind the coldest eyes he's ever seen. Was that how he appeared to people when they brought out his anger? Kami he was terrifying._

_"Not an inconvenience, but unnecessary" he said openly, "I don't mean to offend you or your ideas but we are going into business together, not you, me, and my whole third party business staff"_

_Intimidated by her? Maybe. But he would never back down to a woman, no matter how cold or truly frightening she seemed if provoked, his pride was simply too much for that to be allowed._

_"Ah. A noteworthy opinion, I'll give that to you. But a kingdom is only as good as it's subjects living in it and the King ruling over it. You have nothing without the people behind you, who would have to support you in some way or they wouldn't be where they are today, if only half of the whole didn't approve of your actions and dealings then the smallest revolt would be devastating to you"_

_The ice dripping off her words literally made a crawl go up his back in reality. He accepted her words for what they were, but he did not agree with them. The way he ruled over his kingdom was sown into his blood before he was even born, had he not and actually had a chance to think for his own he would probably see her side of the coin better. However, his fate was handed to him differently._

_"In some way, there's truth to what you're saying, but only a fool would allow their subjects to partake in their affairs when you can't weed out the passionate from the snakes who would nip you in the heel at the worst opportunity"_

_One of her advisers, a burly man who seemed to be of Spanish decent, opened his mouth to say something but he was silenced with just the raise of her hand. His mouth straightened, but his line of sight directed at Kazuya was unmistakably lined with fury. She remained silent for a moment and it seemed that everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting for what she would say next. Would she break off the partnership right now? Would she curse him and throw him out? But the exact opposite happened when everyone saw her mouth twitch at the side a little before breaking out into a small, but very noticeable smile and her eyes showing that she was pleased if anything else._

_"I knew I made a good decision" she said with a light chuckle, "we should go far together Mr. Mishima"_

_She was looking at him with those eyes again, the ones where it made time seem to stop and it was only her and him in the room. He felt as if a beautiful deity was sitting high up and looking down at him and he was someone about to worship her with the way he was looking up at her. Still, the gaze she was giving him made it seem as if they've known each other for a very long time, and the thought made him color a bit in the cheeks. He should not be getting warm and fuzzy with someone such as her when he had a wife and child at home._

_He broke the staring contest first and quickly signed his name on the printed line next to her already printed one and hurriedly rose from his seat, his body aching for a breath of fresh air already. His long strides out of the room echoed as the vastness of the place finally dawned on him, and soon her voice traveled to even where he was which was now at the far end of the meeting room._

_"Well, that adjourns our little get together" she spoke to everyone around her, "you all will be seeing more of me around. It was nice to see all of your faces"_

_Kazuya glanced at the facial expressions of his staff and wasn't surprised that almost all of them liked her very much. He knew that further down the road if they ever had a disagreement between the two of them, the people in his corner wouldn't hesitate to find a way to see her point of view and go against him. This was how she made people undyingly loyal to her, by appealing to their sense of wanting to be together._

_Whenever she spoke, people listened with the upmost attention, and her words always had a meaning behind them. That was the kind of person he grew to be fond of as time went on alongside her. Kazuya began to spend less and less time at home, and more at work where his thoughts and actions were questioned without shame and he was mentally challenged with every word battle they had. Someone would think they were mortal enemies if they ever heard the icy battles they would have, sometimes angering one of them enough to cause them to leave promptly and not coming back for a few days._

_There was one day though, that should've been just like any other, but wasn't. Lilian had just came back into the country after a quick trip to Germany and France, arriving pretty late in the night. Kazuya waited for her as soon as she stepped off the plane and he could tell there was something different about her. She didn't notice him and her face remained grave and troubled, as if something threatened the peace she had found and there wasn't an easy way out of it. This was the first time Kazuya had seen her seem nervous._

_He figured that she must have felt eyes on her and she looked around for the source until she saw him. The graveness disappeared and that small smile he was use to seeing came back again, but it didn't leave him with any relief. There was definitely something wrong and he would help her if it was within his power. She walked towards him alongside her massive bodyguards and told them to stand aside as she spoke with her business partner and they did so without a moment's hesitation._

_"It's nice to be back here again," she told him, "I never realized I would soon come to treat this place like the home I was born in instead of my native one. The air here is cleaner"_

_Kazuya thought this was a rather unusual way to greet him and didn't think anything of it at the time. "You detest your native country?"_

_She nodded her head as she began to walk beside him and out of the airport. Her bodyguards assumed their positions behind them, but far enough so that it didn't feel like they were breathing down their necks._

_"My native country is beautiful in every sense of the word and the air there is quite clear in reality's sense, but it's the foul stench of its underbelly that I hate" her eyes seemed to sadden at this. "I went back once to see if anything had changed and nothing had, if anything it'd gotten worse..."_

_He said nothing and wondered where she was from for a moment. Looking at her and her features he knew she was of French decent and her French accent only appeared the most when she was either angry or speaking fluent Japanese. It clipped her words and made most of her annunciations in his native language seem almost slurred, but enticing nonetheless. However, there was no evidence of her French accent when she spoke English, which led him to believe that some whatever part of France was not her only home for a long period of time, but she lived somewhere else for awhile in her earlier years as well. Still, he wished to inquire more about her home and what it was like there, even though he had little to no idea where that could possibly be._

_"The underbelly of it...what's there?" He asked her._

_She fell silent for a moment and a sad smile graced her features again. "Monsters"_

_Kazuya gave her a look that she did not return and their walk continued in silence until it was time for them to part ways to go in separate directions. They turned to face each other and he couldn't help but scratch the back of his head awkwardly._

_"Would you like to go somewhere with me?" She asked him suddenly._

_His breathing halted and his eyebrows rose significantly. What exactly was she asking him? The moon hit the ring on his finger just right and caught her eye to which she looked at briefly before smiling again. She seemed hesitant at first, but she reached for his hand to which he let her take gently. He waited to see what she would do now that she had his hand in her's and he watched as she rubbed her warm fingers over his wedding band._

_"I know you should probably get home soon, but I want to show you something I've never shown anyone else before" she told him breathlessly, "not even Edward has seen it...and he never will"_

_Kazuya was taken once more with her, and there was no escaping. He hadn't even realized she let go of him until the cold air whipped her warmth away. She could see the yes in his eyes as he stared at her, but she desired for it to come from his mouth. If he wasn't completely sure, even for the smallest bit then she wouldn't take him._

_"Where are we going?" He had to ask._

_She smiled, her white teeth visible to him for the first time. "To a place where only monsters are"_

* * *

Jin was on the edge of his seat, so immersed in his father's story that he didn't even notice that his phone was ringing. His father stopped mid-sentence and pointed at the annoying device laying face down on his desk.

"I'm sure it's important" he told him.

Jin grunted as he reached for it. "Not enough"

The caller ID showed a picture of Nina and he could only groan, that meant it was indeed something relatively important that very likely needed his attention. Nevertheless, he answered the call promptly.

"You could not have picked a better time Nina" he droned in a bored tone.

"Your sarcasm really leaves a great impression on most people" she quipped. "Mr. Rochefort is here to collect those documents"

Jin paused, his mouth going straight to show he was dissatisfied. Why the hell did he all of a sudden just pop up just to obtain documents he already knew were going to be signed? They had only just gotten the papers a day ago as well so what the hell was the rush?

"Did you let him in already?" He asked Nina.

At hearing this Kazuya rose an eyebrow in question.

"Yes. The man can be mildly intimidating when he wants to be, and would further press the issue if I kept putting him off"

Jin couldn't hold it in any longer and ended up banging his fist on his father's desk which caused a few papers to scatter around them and a large dent to appear where his fist connected with the wood. It was a good thing the desk was expensive or else he would've left an unsightly hole in it.

"Where is he waiting?"

"In your office"

He hung up and sighed loudly while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Edward is here"

"Ah. So that's what possessed you to injure my—I don't even remember how much I paid for it. Anyway, just know that this desk was expensive" Kazuya muttered.

Jin waved the matter away. "I'll pay for it don't worry about it. But he's here to pick up the signed deal"

Kazuya handed the stack of papers back to Jin and watched him leave in a small ball of fury. He couldn't help but smirk at the miniature version of himself stomping through the office and causing employees to avoid him.

He looked back on his memory of traveling to Lilian's side of the tracks and wondered if that was her way of leaving a part of herself with him if she happened to not be around anymore. Kazuya could even honestly say he felt honored that she chose to leave that part of herself with him instead of her own husband and that in itself spoke that she trusted him. He figured that wasn't acquired very easily.

* * *

Lili nearly fell asleep with her head on the driver's seat window of her black Benz outside of the familiar Japanese restaurant. She was startled awake a couple minutes ago thanks to the insatiable honking of an angry driver in a different lane and hadn't been able to doze back off since.

Her window was lowered a bit and she could smell the rain about to settle in on the cool breeze. It was the beginning of June and she could honestly say that whoever picked her wedding date picked the worst possible month to do so. They may have thought it funny to pick the second most rainy month on the calendar, but it was hardly amusing to her. Not only did she still have to get married but it also had to be in the rain, a dreary and sad sort of aspect all in itself.

As much as she disliked the rain, she had to admit that the specific weather was a soothing element for her and gave her pleasant dreams along with it. Music was playing softly from her radio as well and it was her favorite song too. If someone ever wanted to kidnap her by having her fall asleep all they would have to do is commit the act while it's dreary and dark outside from the rain and play a song called Glassy Sky and she'll be out like a light.

More minutes passed and she began to get worried, a foreboding feeling settling over her like a night cloud. Where was he anyway? What time did he get off again? She looked through her memories as if she were reading a book with only him on the pages, until she stopped at one that was relevant.

"When do you get off? I wanna pick you up later" she said with a light chuckle.

He ruffled her hair and she glared playfully at him, "How do you keep forgetting? You know I always get off at eight"

Lili's eyes snapped to the neon clock illuminated in blue near the radio and her eyes widened. 9:05pm. How the hell did she not notice that she had been sitting there for hours?! Her eyes frantically searched the area around her that she could see from the car and all she could spot were aimless people preparing their umbrellas for the onslaught of rain that was sure to come, none of them happened to be her favorite flaming haired lover. A panic started to rise in her chest and she made a decision far before the thought even rose in her head that she would have to choose whether or not she would look for him.

As soon as one of her black boots appeared outside of her car it started to come down. Rain began to pelt her tight blue jeans and slid down her water resistant black biker jacket, her hair began to stick to the sides of her face and neck uncomfortably and she began to jog towards the entrance of the restaurant. As soon as she stepped in eyes immediately shot in her direction and gasps of excitement rose like applause, people started to make their way towards her with phones in sight and she quickly dodged them as best as she could until she met with an employee, a girl who seemed to be a couple years older than her.

Naturally, Lili towered over the young woman with her height and may have seemed intimidating had it not been for the expression on her face. "Excuse me" Lili got her attention with her slightly slurred Japanese.

The woman turned around and nearly fainted at the sight of the tall blonde until she remembered her duty and bowed to the possible customer. "I'm sorry, I would've never thought Ms. Rochefort would show up here. How may I help you?"

"Do you mind telling me when one of your employees left from here? His name is Hwoarang" she couldn't help but cringe at her slaughtering of his first name. Her accent did no kind of justice on his Korean given name and she could hear him faintly laughing at her about how her Japanese would sound perfect if she would just work harder on the way she pronounced things, and her Korean was even worse.

A look of realization passed over the young woman's features as she registered the name with the person. "Oh yes! Hwoarang-san left here with a tall man some minutes ago"

Lili went cold and her skin paled. If the tall man was who she thought it was then her father definitely sent him. From what she knew, Hwoarang has been doing pretty well in avoiding her father's men but they must have found out something by now. He couldn't run from her father forever. No one could.

"Thank you" she responded quickly and ran out of the place before anyone could approach her.

Now back outside, the rain was really coming down. She could strip all her clothes and shower right where she stood. The constant down pour however made her vision that much harder to cooperate with. All she needed to find was an abandoned alleyway, or somewhere inconspicuous enough to kill someone. Across the street, was a pretty good area to do so. Even in modern daylight it would be hard to make it the actions or deeds of someone trying to be stealthy about their missions. Her footsteps splashed harshly into the road towards the dark area that was so dark the shadows from it seemed to move. She had one step to go before she made it to the other side before a blaring horn and blinding lights suddenly appeared in her peripheral view. The next thing she knew, her view was upside down and spinning all around. Her wet hair whipped into her eyes like a painful towel and she squeezed them shut until they shot open again once she felt the impact of the ground go through her whole body. Agonizing pain blossomed through her whole side and caused her mouth to open wide in silent pain. It was so much that her eyes rolled back in her head and watered profusely. She could feel warm water soaking through her jacket and spilling down the rest of her body until she was no more.

* * *

Jin walked into his office to find a solitary male standing on the side where the windows were. For a moment, he contemplated pushing him out of one and quickly laid that thought to rest before he actually did it.

"I should consider myself lucky," Jin said as he shoved one of his hands in his blazer pockets, "you visiting me personally out of your busy day. Did you want to revise anything?"

Edward shook his head and continued to stare down at the city below him through the thick windows. "But I did come here to ask you two questions while I retrieved the documents pertaining to our deal"

"I knew there was a catch" Jin said sarcastically.

The dark haired male sat in his black swivel chair and aimlessly peered at the other stacks of paper on his desk, already putting a pile aside in his mind for Nina to do so he wouldn't have to do so much work. God he needed some sleep.

"I'm just curious, and you shouldn't take any offense to this. Do you plan on starting a family with my daughter any time in the future?"

The question caught Jin so far left that he had to assess his hearing and make sure he wasn't just imagining things. What kind of question was that?! He refused to believe that all of a sudden Lili's father had an epiphany and suddenly started caring about his actions regarding his daughter. What was he trying to do?

"I wasn't even thinking about starting one of my own for a very long time, but now that you brought it up I can't help but wonder why you would ask such a question" Jin responded slowly.

The blonde-haired male turned to face Jin and the younger male was surprised to find a different sort of expression there. He was either really stuck in thought over something life changing, or pondering over a decision he made long ago. It was one of the expressions Jin would often find on his father's face if said man didn't notice Jin staring at him.

Edward coughed into his fist and the expression disappeared and was replaced with the stone cold mask he often wore in his or his father's presence. "Now to my second question..."

Heeled footsteps approaching Jin's office brought both of the men's attention to Nina who had a troubled look on her face. She stopped directly in the middle of his doorframe and seemed to struggle with how to proceed. The very sight itself alarmed her boss and if he knew her well he would say that Nina never had trouble with much of anything, much less trying to deliver news.

"Nina?..." He called uncertainly.

Her eyebrows furrowed together and her mouth tightened, and she finally opened her mouth finally to speak. "Where's the remote to your tv?"

One of his eyebrows rose in question and he looked at the dark screen of the small wall mounted piece of electronic. What could she need that for? And what was so important about it that she had to interrupt his conversation with Edward?

He hardly used it as it was but he always kept the remote in one place, so it should be where he always put it. Pulling open one of the many drawers to his desk, he slipped his hand inside and found what he was looking for. He sat the device on his desk and Nina quickly walked towards it and snatched it up while turning on the tv.

Whatever sitcom that was currently showing was abruptly interrupted by breaking news (something that made Jin fed up with tv in the first place) and showed a horrendously long line of traffic being directed another way because of a fatal pedestrian accident that left one person dead. A helicopter flew above the scene and offered an aerial view of the event and blood could clearly be seen pooled in one area underneath the front of the car and splattered on a nearby asphalt pillar. Another view was provided of the side view of the vehicle involved in the accident that showed it's completely cracked windshield and bloodied front bumper that showed a slender pale arm lying on the other side of it, the view of the whole body was blocked off by the car and led one to wonder who that arm could belong to.

Another discovery of a carcass was found in a nearby alleyway not far from the crash site of a young man stabbed repeatedly to death said to have worked in a restaurant that seemed familiar to Jin as they showed a picture of the establishment. Where had he seen that before? A picture of the young man that was killed reminded Jin in full. It was that Korean guy Lili was seeing after all and he wondered how she would take the news if she heard at all. Jin had a deep annoyance rooted in himself when it came to the guy, but he didn't feel such an animosity towards him that he would seriously make moves to go out of his way to have him killed and discarded in an alleyway like trash. However, what he and his father wouldn't do is what Edward would do and Jin honestly wouldn't be surprised if he had something to do with it.

"...and it seems the victim of the accident was model and face of pure magazine Lili Rochefort", from then on Jin wasn't listening to whatever the spokeswoman had to say as she gave the details of the accident and could feel an immense sinking feeling in the middle of his chest. It was as if someone pushed him off a cliff and he was getting a sickly feeling of weightlessness that reminded him how much he hated heights. He was only snapped out of his stupor when Edward was already standing and reaching for his coat that he had hung on the back of a chair in front of Jin's desk and leaving without saying anything to anyone.

Jin stood too and left it to Nina to shut off the tv and watch after everything while he was away. He grabbed his long black overcoat as well and swiftly put it on himself while making his way towards the elevators leading down to the garages where his truck was parked.

* * *

A/N: Pretty intense chapter yeah? Hope it wasn't too bad and that I didn't make it too dramatic, but yeah. Very important info down below so please read it if you haven't already. Please don't forget to comment, follow, and enjoy ~Sasusakui

My profile has officially been updated in the fictional character area. Two people have been added and those people are Lilian Celeste and Edward Rochefort ^^ I finally figured out how to use the link button in the toolbar so now you guys can just click or tap the link on there and the images should show in a new window :) if there are any problems with that please let me know and I'll try to fix it. I would really like it if you guys frequently glance at my profile for moment in case I put anything new up there about our favorite characters from my stories, usually in a author's note I'll let you guys know if it's been updated but in case I don't then just take a quick looksie.


	12. Chapter 12

**Shades of Blue**

Chapter 12

Jin had never seen someone's body seem so broken up before, like a wound up toy that was no longer in use and without purpose. That's what his fiancé looked like on the ground in front of him. Paramedics were already there with their flashing lights on their vehicles, and ushering each other in hurried voices. Police were pushing onlookers back with gentle but stern voices, and traffic was now worse than ever with this catastrophe on the side of the road. For all the people of authority surrounding him though, they let him through without a word of question or protest and no one seemed to bother him as he stood there. He was simply just left to himself.

Somehow he had gotten to the scene of the accident before Edward did and had a first look at the damage it caused. He could tell just by looking that most of the blood present, and there was a lot of it, was her's and that much blood loss to anyone was fatal. The driver's cranium was currently resting on the steering wheel, no blood there, but he died a little over fifteen minutes ago from a drug overdose it seemed.

What exactly was she doing at the time she was hit? His emotions and mind was jumbled as he continued to stare at the non-moving body of the girl he was suppose to be getting married to, the same girl that infuriated him to no end but also made him feel sad for, and the same girl he was talking to in the flower beds of her home just two days ago. The events left him in such an immobile state he didn't even realize the phone in his hand was ringing repeatedly and he numbly reached in his pocket to answer it.

"I'm looking at the news now...my God Jin"

He found his throat and mouth going incredibly dry at such a rapid pace he wasn't surprised that his voice came out croaky. "I don't know if you can see it, but...there's a lot of blood" was all he could manage to say.

Asuka was at a loss for words and continued to watch him through her tv screen. She could see him just stand there as a blurred and limp body lay in front of him, the only way she could make out it was even a body at all was from all the blood splatters she could vaguely see around it. She couldn't help but hold a hand against her heart, how horrible. Her dislike for the young woman aside, she would never wish something like this on her head—on anyone's head.

"I don't know...", He paused trying to find some type of clarity in his completely destroyed train of thought, "I don't know what I should do" he told her honestly.

His face was looking towards the sky and he vaguely wondered where all the rain had gone. It was all gone now and all that was left was the slick roads, misty air, cool winds and overwhelming stench of copper.

"You never know what really happens, you should see this through to the end at least.." She managed to say although her throat was closing up on her.

Jin seemed to be content with her words and was unable to say anything else. His eyes returned back to the girl in front of him and he stared long and hard at her face. The expression there could've been mistaken for slumber, as if she would wake up and dust off her clothing at any time. But he knew that was impossible. The blood. Her blood, seemed to be everywhere. He just happened to look down and noticed he was standing in it, discolored and watery thanks to the rain attempting to wash it away, and out of respect he quickly stepped out of it.

One out of the two paramedics that arrived on the scene began to approach the blonde's crumbled body and gently began to move her, lifting her up by slipping his fingers under her back and using strength alone to guide her onto the stretcher provided. Her hair stuck to her face in cold wetness and her clothes were completely soaked all the way through and all the blood loss made her once slightly tanned colored skin a sickly white. Her limbs fell to her sides on the stretcher unnaturally, and her slightly raised shirt underneath exposed the ugly and bruised skin over her hips while her arms seemed to hang out of their sockets. He could hardly continue to look.

Jin's back was the only thing that could be seen as he pondered if he could handle going along with her to the hospital where they would either presume her dead or by some miracle alive. They began to lift her into the back of the ambulance vehicle and he realized that his window of decision was getting smaller by the second, one of these days a paramedic would ask him if he would like to accompany her to the hospital. Little did he know he was starting to panic.

How would he feel if they tell him her life is no more? Forfeit to the unforeseen accident that claimed her without a second thought. Surely he wouldn't be too affected, he hadn't known her that long, it was just more of an outer body experience because he had seen her alive and well not too long ago. The logical analysis of it all just made his heart beat harder and he found himself grimacing at the pain, now really wasn't the time for an episode on his part.

He could hear the medical equipment from inside, beeping away and ready to be used, and time seemed to stand still as he found himself walking towards the ambulance vehicle to look inside of it. They were putting IV's in her arm, and the moment of truth would start right here. If the heart monitor didn't have any response then there was no point in making the drive towards the hospital, and the morgue would serve more of a purpose.

"Unbelievable..."

The sudden voice caught him off guard and he look to see the male paramedic using his hands to lightly press on the sides of Lili's neck, his eyes as wide as any human could go. Just to be sure he wasn't imagining things, he bent his ear to her chest as well and lifted it after about five minutes.

"What are you doing?" Jin questioned.

The male jumped slightly and looked up as if he noticed Jin standing there for the first time, the other paramedic who happened to be female dropped whatever it was that she was holding. "Are you sure you want to know?" He asked

Jin's intimidating stare left no room for doubt and had the man dressed in a pale green stuttering into his next sentence.

"Un-until a while ago, I was sure that her neck was broken, snapped in two. That in itself is more times than not an automatic death on top of the other injuries she obtained. I was checking for any remaining structure at all and found none, but what I did feel...was a pulse."

The woman's head snapped up at her partner, "A pulse? Seriously?"

Jin looked back and forth between the two.

The male nodded, "I listened for one against her chest too, and sure enough there's one there"

The female began to move quickly, looking at the heart monitor with nothing short of a surprised expression, "If that's true then this will—

_Bleep~...Bleep~...Bleep~..._

* * *

"Are we going to the hospital where Lili will be stationed?"

Edward looked up at Sebastian from the inside of his liquor glass and wondered how the man still managed to pop up places without a sound. It unnerved and settled him all at the same time.

He finished off what was left of the strong alcohol without answering his butler right away and thought about it himself. It never occurred to him to go see his daughter in her current condition, figuring that was her punishment for running off and trying to see her little lover boy in the first place, but now that he thought about it maybe a visit was in order. Still, he would like to be a bit more difficult before being forced to do anything.

"What for?"

The side of Sebastian's mouth twitched in heavy irritation. He knew the exact capacity of Edward's mind when it came to knowledge and he absolutely hated it when the man had the audacity to put his righteously apparent knowledge to question through stupid actions or rhetorical questions that had an obvious answer.

"The tyrants that run that company you oh so desperately want to take control of may not care about the image they portray, but we surely do, especially where people who care are concerned. They wouldn't so much had they not been under the impression that you're all rainbows and pixie dust of a widower" Sebastian simply said.

Sebastian's clear cut words earned a sufficient glare from his master and he considered it best from then on to keep to himself so Edward could think. What he did didn't have any sort of effect on him unless out of his own stupidity he may come up with the brilliant idea of firing him, but he couldn't and would never be able to. As much as Edward would hate to admit, he couldn't progress without the harsh minded butler. He had the knowledge of the Celeste family that he did not, could work into the mind of his daughter just through his words alone, and could handle the most important of situations if Edward found that he couldn't himself.

"What makes you even think she's still alive, Sebastian?" Edward found himself asking aloud.

A part of him turned a little gray at the idea of his only piece of family that he created would be dead, the only reminder he had left of her cute little mother. He would rather not mull over the thought of her never being around him anymore and leaving him completely alone in the empty castle him and his wife built and instead settle on the fact that he would be able to continue his life without his daughter in it. It may sound sick to most people but Edward could only see the intelligence within his thoughts and none of the thorns that pointed towards his madness.

He noticed how the butler never answered his question and chalked it up to being one of those things Sebastian would never tell him, a long kept secret that had something to do with Lilian's side of the family that he was forbidden to speak of on all accounts. So Edward left it alone and resumed to reach for his liquor glass, where inside he saw Lilian's ashen face, and then he was no longer thirsty for bourbon.

* * *

_There she sat, in all of her blonde glory and cold eyes in front of the little make up desk she loved so much, brushing her hair as her husband seemed to slink into the room. She paused momentarily, watching his reflection in her mirror like a predator before resuming her calm action with her wooden brush, all the while still keeping a keen eye on him._

_"It's quite late Edward..." She muttered softly, but loud enough so that he would definitely hear her._

_He turned towards her, clothes slightly askew and smelling lightly of womanly essence, and grimaced. His eyes seemed permanently locked on her face._

_"What's wrong with your face..?" He asked with slightly slurring words._

_Their eyes met on the surface of the tall mirror and she seemed to narrow her eyes at him, disapproval clear as day. He came back to her smelling of another woman and wanted to inquire about her face? She opened her mouth slightly to retort something awful to him until she took a quick glance herself in the mirror, as if noticing herself for the first time, and was ashamed. How careless was she starting to get if someone as slow and as absent-minded as Edward noticed what she was like before she put herself together?_

_Her slender hands, equipped with neat and pointed nails, reached for the white cream that sat near her. She dipped two fingers in, and smeared the cool feeling substance all over the areas of her face and throat and let it take its effect. Eyes closing in bliss as the material worked into the pores of her skin, she opened them and stared back at her reflection. Smooth, the color of soft ivory and decorated lightly with beauty marks, her flesh was now on full display and Edward wasn't nearly drunk enough to mistake what he had just seen. It put him off even more when she noticed his reaction and did nothing but close the cream up and sigh._

_"It's rude not to acknowledge what your wife has just said to you, only to throw a question at me later. No 'I'm sorry' or other excuse in sight as if I'm not even worthy of one" she said swinging her long legs around to face her whole body towards him._

_He stood on his side of the room next to the bed they both shared (sometimes) and could only look at her. Her long, kimono-like, robe decorated with Hawaiian flowers swept across her calves, and underneath was just a thin, royal blue night gown that only came down to the middle of her thighs. Just the way she happened to be looking at him, and the way her legs were cast in the low light of the abnormal sized room was enticing of itself, but he couldn't shake the image he saw of her a few moments ago._

_"And I have yet to get an answer for that question" he stated flatly, "that seems of more importance than why I'm arriving home so late don't you think?"_

_Her eyebrows scrunched up in delight as she gave him a slight incredulous look that told him he would never get the truth out of her for however long he asked or demanded from her. Still, she humored him enough to make him even doubt himself and mentally call himself a fool for his charades. He first realized he could remember this event once Lilian was no longer alive. As soon as the casket lowered and she was forever shut from him, bam!, it came to him in a dream. _

_"What exactly did you see, oh husband? Hmm?" She had asked him almost playfully, even going so far as to show him her teeth a little, which glistened even in the low light of the room._

_What did he see? What about her face made him even think to ask what was wrong with it in the first place? Was it unnatural? Did it scare or frighten him? Now that he really thought about it, and he really did try to think, he couldn't really remember what exactly it was that made him question his own sanity for a moment and thought himself akin to a drunk who couldn't hold his liquor and much less hold onto a memory._

_"Ah. You can't remember?" She laughed a little into her hand as he appeared to struggle with himself, "you should blame your habits for that. One of these days you'll wake up and not remember who you are or where you are, your mind...a blank"_

_The very thought itself made a crawl go up his spine and it must've shown on his face because it made his wife chuckle again into her hand. She stood from where she was and made her way over to him, crossing the line that divided the room between his and her's. A forgiving look was in her eyes and he couldn't resist the gray hues. Her arms were outstretched towards him and he let her embrace him like any lover would. _

_"You know I'll forgive you every time you stray from me love" she murmured against his chest, "what I won't forgive is the neglect of our precious jewel that slumbers only a few feet away from us" her eyes peered up at him and he realized how close she was to him without snarling in disgust over the fact that he smelled of someone else, "I am not intimidated by someone who can only keep you for a fortnight, rather, the battle is truly over when that person owns all of you...body and soul"_

_Edward could only watch her lips move and hear her words being spoken softly to him, and he could almost visibly see chains wrapping around his ankles and the ends of them being collected in her hands. At the time, he knew that he would forever be her's for however long she wished it, his body and soul was indeed all of her's to consume. Acknowledging that fact, he bent his head down to kiss her and she let him as her arms locked around his neck. They fell into bed together that night, causing him to forget all about the short time he spent with a pretty young woman he met at a bar, and he could only smirk in the present and think that Lilian had won every single battle that presented itself in front of him in the form of a 'pretty young woman'._

* * *

Kazuya absolutely hated hospitals. Hated the smell, the feel of the sick and dying inside, and cries of newborn infants. If it wasn't him hooked up to IV's and forever trapped in a pristine white bed then he preferred to stay outside of the place and not walking in unless he absolutely had to.

He stood still under the protection of the walking bridge above him from the onslaught of rain he just barely missed coming here, and found himself relaxing to the sound. The flicker of his lighter coming to life against his newly bought cigarette illuminated the dark space surrounding him, and he inhaled its contents and blew it out through his nose. If Jin were standing with him now, he would shake his head and make so smart alec remark about him trying to kill himself with the mixture of alcohol and nicotine knowing full well that neither did well against their genes. But his son wasn't there. He was inside somewhere inwardly self-destructing at the situation sat abruptly into his lap. Kazuya could feel it. The erratic feel of his aura was overwhelming even from where he happened to be standing, and he was all the way outside.

A snap of soft light brought Kazuya's attention to the far area to the right of his line of sight and there a couple of reporters blanched and stood stalk still once they figured they were caught. His jaw went rigid at the sight of them and his hand flew up to the death stick in his mouth and he snatched it up before either reporter could blink.

"I have the displeasure to see any photo of anything involving my daughter-in-law or my son I'll make both of your career lives non-existent for years to come"

They disappeared as if they were never there at all and the elder male was sure from then on he wouldn't have any more problems out of them for now. His cigarette returned calmly to the side of his mouth as he leaned against the dark gray wall of the hospital, trying to suppress the signal of Jin's all over the place aura while subtly trying to calm his own at the same time. He was one phone call away from telling Jin to just go home if the whole ordeal was too much for him to bear, and he would offer to check in on his little wife every now and then. Now that he actually imagined him doing so though, he didn't think Jin would appreciate it all too much, the boy always thought he was up to something or had an agenda. It wasn't commonly the case nowadays, now that he was older he no longer saw the point in leading people through mind games just to get what he wanted. If he did want something, it made much more sense to just take it.

Jin's aura continued to fluctuate abnormally and Kazuya wondered what exactly was on his mind that had it going through flips. He knew it had something to do with the potential thought of his fiance passing. If he had to guess, it would probably be the idea that he never got to know her interior for what it was before she was snatched from him. That would be a reason to mourn, but Jin is not the type. The boy has four stages until someone finally catches on that there's something bothering him. The first being uncharacteristic anger at things that shouldn't bother him, the second being a quiet sulk that no one could pull him out of, the third being akin to the first where he finds anything and everything pointless in some way, and the fourth resulting in him leaving to go God knows where and then returning as if nothing ever happened. That's just how he coped with things. Not the most efficient way in Kazuya's opinion, but if it worked for his son then what cold he do? One of these days though he'll have to understand that running from what's bothering him will not always work, and that facing it for what its worth if part of being a man.

Besides all of that though, Kazuya knew the events that occurred tonight weren't just mere alignment of the stars and that it had Edward's name written all over it. He didn't know if the man was crazy enough to write off his own daughter for whatever reason, it wouldn't serve him a good hand in any way, but he didn't miss that Korean boy showing up on the screen either. From the pictures he saw, as...graphic.. as they were, he could tell there was heavy feelings there although he was sure the prideful girl would write it off as nothing. There was no way his death wasn't arranged by Edward because Kazuya knew Jin had no reason for killing the guy (getting him beaten up to the point of hospitalization, maybe, but getting him killed? No.) and he himself didn't do it because what would he care if his daughter-in-law was getting around? and there was no one else that would have the biggest problem with it other than her sick father that thought everything under the sun belonged to him.

The timing of her accident though, was what was questionable in his opinion, it was because of this convenient timing that Kazuya could almost say that her father was behind it all and here was why. The boy was found dead at the same moment his love was hit by a car, and because she is the more popular out of the two, her injuries completely dwarfed his death in comparison to the public eye. Only the people that knew him personally would be the most affected by his passing, while the rest of the world wanted to know whether or not the beautiful and elusive young woman was gone. The convenience of the situation was definitely something worth looking into indeed, and it raised a lot of questions in concerns to whether or not Edward was trying to teach his daughter a cruel lesson, or punish her for trying to see the boy. Either outcome left a bad taste in his mouth. Speaking of bad taste, the cigarette he had in his mouth was officially no more and he crushed it underneath his foot without a second thought while putting his hands in his deep pockets to protect them from the now chilly winds.

Who the hell picked his son's wedding date again? The weather for it would be terrible honestly, and he wasn't a big mind reader when it came to women, but he knew the thought crossed his wife's mind once or twice and she would think it irritating if anything else. Speaking of the young girl, Kazuya could admit that he was in the slightest curious about what kind of havoc her injuries have wrecked on her body and whether or not she would survive them. It would be a shame if she passed, he would admit to that, her fate to die in a painful way after all her father has put her through was a sad thing indeed. Almost too sad.

"How is she?" He asked aloud.

Jin had shown up a while ago, maybe five minutes, and said nothing that whole time span. What could he say? Things happened that neither of them could have foreseen and it was taking a toll on his mind, and Kazuya could sympathize.

"Barely breathing" Jin muttered.

"But breathing all the same" he responded while turning towards him, "unless you think the trauma would get the best of her"

Jin stayed silent for a moment before sighing and running a hand through his already tousled hair. "Although that would be unfortunate, I think the condition she's in now is nothing short of what many would call a '_miracle_' "

Kazuya stared at him for a long time before narrowing his eyes keenly at the concrete underneath his feet. "A fool's explanation for modern technology.."

His son didn't respond to what was said and instead seemed to glance at the atmosphere around them, deciding to change the subject now that it was taking a darker turn than he originally wanted it to, "I'm surprised that the vultures haven't flocked their way here yet..."

"You just missed them. I sent them away before hand" Kazuya muttered irritably, "It would be gold if they even knew you were here and the next thing you know, you wouldn't be able to leave the gates of your house", he paused momentarily before he asked, "what exactly were her injuries anyway?"

Jin seemed to halt in opening his mouth to answer the question, reminiscing on the scene where he saw her laying on the ground in front of him, a scene he didn't think he would forget if she didn't recover from her wounds.

"Well from what was told to me, when the car hit her, it was going at a moderate speed. Just enough for her head to meet with the windshield and her thighs and lower legs to be met by the front bumper. The force of the car plus its weight against her own threw her onto the concrete...which is probably where all the blood came from" he paused for a moment and took a breath, "Multiple broken bones in her neck, two ruptured organs, torn ligaments, broken bones... and that's probably not even the worst of it"

Kazuya's eyebrows rose in surprise, no wonder he was calling it a miracle. It would be astonishing if she even made it out alive. "Sturdy girl..."

"Doctors say she shouldn't be conscious for a couple weeks. Immense trauma like that will at least take her out for awhile..." Jin murmured.

The elder male grinned slightly. "Worried this might stop your wedding day?"

Jin gave him a look and could only roll his eyes. "If I were in the mood to go back and forth with you I would, but I need all the energy I can muster.."

Kazuya could hear the resolve in the younger male's voice it told him exactly what Jin meant to do and he wouldn't pester him any further on the matter. It brought a little bit of a smile to his face at the prospect of being reminded how he reacted to Lilian getting under the weather at one point, it more or less worried him and irritated him because he was worried over someone that infuriated him. What a pity that person was gone now. Kazuya would prefer if that didn't happen to Jin.

"Well. At least don't stay overnight, or you just may expose your true emotions, and no one at the office will be expecting you for a while either. Go home and get rest when it's time, I'm pretty sure when your princess wakes up she'll be offended to find you sleeping there" he told him as he walked off.

Jin's mouth twitched in annoyance, "Expose my true emotions- what?"

All Kazuya could do was shake his head and laugh under his breath. Why did his son have to follow his footsteps and deny that he was captivated by the blonde?

* * *

A/N: Don't forget to go voting guys and hit up my poll on my profile! I stopped this chapter a little earlier than expected but that's only because I wanted to kick this out sooner rather than later. I'm also thinking about changing my pen name, but I don't want to throw you guys off in trying to find my work just because I changed it. If this won't affect the bulk of you, let me know in a review and I'll take it from there. Also, feel free to PM if you have any questions, concerns, and/or complaints. I'm lenient on that last part, but you had better be coming with something logical and strong if you want me to see reason (and usually I do, if not, then lets just agree to disagree).

Happy Reading and don't forget to review :) ~Sasusakui


	13. Chapter 13

**Dream World**

Chapter 13

Cool breeze shifted and moved the long blonde hair of a girl that was completely alone underneath a giant, maple tree. The fall season colored the brilliant leaves of this tree ember, topaz, and bright peridot making it more than a natural and beautiful sight. The girl slept peacefully under this large tree within the protection of its roots and under the shade of its appendages that stretched across the sky and her body was cradled in the soft mounds of its fallen leaves. She wore an opal colored dress of satin that raised no higher than her knees and its sleeves only covered one of her shoulders, almost in a Roman-aged fashion. The grass surrounding the area in which she slept resembled the plains of Africa and stood about calf height in its light beige color, almost hiding the young woman completely from anyone's immediate view. However, someone did spot her slumbering there battled with themselves whether or not they should wake her. This was not a light decision by any means, because the tree in which she slept under represented something important and had different appearances for anyone in the same situation as the young woman and had two very grave and life-changing consequences need a decision be made.

If roused from her sleep, she would face pain and confusion of the heart, suffer a betrayal from someone she favored, as well as heartbreak that would surely haunt her for the rest of her years. On the brighter side though, she would find love in not only one place, but two and have fierce protectors that would do anything for her. She would find something that has been hidden from her her whole childhood and young adult life, connect with that person and become that person's best friend as well as an ally. If left alone, she would remain there for however long the young woman herself wished, which could be for decades or very well forever. Most of the time people in this situation never knew there was such an important decision to be made, and slept their lives away completely and only opened their eyes when death arrived.

It was knowing all of this that the woman watching was hesitant to raise her hand and lay it on the younger woman's head. If she woke her then it would be all of her fault for the pain she would go through, including the fate to be plagued by the dark shadow of her family. The elder woman prayed the younger would be strong enough to persist and resist the temptation of self-destruction, despite finding out the identity of her family line, continue the want to live. It should all be fine...she's strong like her mother once was when she was young.

**:::**

Blue eyes opened gently to soft hands caressing her face. She had half the mind to swat them away but didn't considering the gentle massage was lovely and meant no harm.

"Wake up child, you must. I don't have a lot of time to stay here with you, and you don't belong here"

The words of another woman floating into Lili's ears made her sit up faster than she meant to, startling and upsetting the mound of autumn leaves around her as she looked for the source. There in front of her, sitting calmly on a huge root of a tree near her, was a slender and tall woman wearing a strapless, deep red dress that flowed along the ground around her. She bore a strong resemblance to Lili's mother and the subtle fact made the young girl's eyes well up softly with tears. The signature silver/blue-ish hue to her eyes was the trademark of her family, as well as the height and blonde hair, except the woman's in front of her had her's cut shoulder length neatly and no bangs to speak of. Needless to say, she was nothing less than striking and Lili found herself unable to look away.

Although she had the appearance of being around the age of mid-twenties, there was a look of wisdom within her eyes that told Lili she could trust her fully, but still she had to know, "Who are you?" she asked breathlessly.

The woman smiled lightly in no particular direction, "My name is Alexa"

Lili nodded to the woman in acknowledgement and felt a warm blush of embarrassment creeping onto her face, "Well...my name is Emilie, Emilie de Rochefort"

Alexa smiled even and wider and turned to finally face the product Lilian made with that man, and was pleased. Before the girl even had a chance to react, she was sitting next to her in her pile of leaves, reaching out her hand and gently cupping the younger woman's chin and tilting her face this way and that. Alexa ran her fingers through Lili's hair in mild delight and picked leaves out of her scalp with her other hand, until she returned her hands back to her side and smiled at her once she realized she was making the young girl wary of her rather than comfortable.

"You and your mother could be twins. I could almost say you have none of your father in you, but you have his eyes. Nothing to worry though, it enhances all the prettiness of your face" Alexa said with a slight laugh.

A pang in Lili's chest at the mention of her mother, made some of the tears that had left a couple minutes ago return and she wiped them away before they had the chance to fall. The woman in front of her, Alexa, talked about her mother as if she knew her personally and looked like her except for the minor differences that made her who she was and not a photo copy of Lilian herself. If she wasn't crazy right now, she could say that she might be a relative on her mother's side, but she knew that to her knowledge of them that they were all gone. No aunts, no uncles, her mother was an only child just as she was.

"How do you know her?" Lili found herself asking.

Alexa smiled a bit wider, showing a hint of her sparkling teeth with pride, "I raised her of course"

Her grandmother. This woman was her...grandmother? But how? "But..how can you-

"Do you know where you are, child?" Alexa asked. She wasn't surprised when Lili suddenly stopped mid-sentence to look around her and shake her head, "this is a place you created, or rather, we're inside your mind right now"

The younger blonde blinked slowly to herself and her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. How the hell could they be in her own mind? And if what Alexa was saying was right, then how could she be here in a domain that only belonged to her? The older woman could see the questions written all over her grand-daughter's face and she decided to liberate her from them.

"I passed when your mother was maybe a few years older than you, and ever since then I've been watching over the two of you in spirit. Because you are now closer to death than you'll perhaps ever be in your lifetime except when it's time for you to move on yourself, is how I come to be here to speak to you right now" she explained.

Lili's mouth fell open in mild shock, memories of the blinding light from the car that side-swiped her as she was crossing the street to find..."So that means...I'm in a coma, trapped inside my own mind, but...I'm alive"

Alexa nodded silently and Lili groaned and leaned her head back on the bark of the tree behind her, it was all still a little hard for her to believe.

"Do you not remember where exactly you've seen this place before?" the older woman asked while gesturing to the beautiful scenery around them.

Lili was caught within the beauty of the place before acknowledging that she was asked a question. "The painting.." she murmured more to herself, "there's a painting in the hallway of my home and this is it..."

Alexa nodded and smiled faintly as she gazed out into the open fields of the area, "Your mother was an amazing painter even at a young age, and it seems you have a wonderful imagination if you're able to make it come alive like this"

The two of them sat in equal comfortable silence, taking in the scenery around them before Alexa bristled and stood silently, looking about the place with a concerned look on her face. Lili stood with her and followed her around as she seemed to search the distance for something.

"What's going on?" Lili asked.

"Someone's here" Alexa muttered gravely

The young blonde's eyes grew wide, "How is that even-

"I don't have the time to really explain it, but I need you to leave this place..." she ordered, "this person is dangerous and they could possibly kill you"

Lili paled in the face and all of her thought process stopped, "How do I even-"

"Use that beautiful head of yours child, think of another place that you favor and you'll go there. Remember, this is your head and you alone control what happens. I can alter things, but I can't do much. Now go"

She turned to leave, but she had to know something before she left. "Will I see you again?"

Alexa turned to face her and smiled, reaching for her grand-daughter and kissing her lightly on her forehead. "Maybe in your dreams if you leave your mind open enough, but you won't remember"

* * *

"This is stupid," Kazuya shouted, "you have no idea what it could mean for you if you do this!"

Angry silver eyes flashed as a rage like no other exploded beneath them, a look he wasn't to use to. "I know what I'm doing Kazuya. It's been ten years since and there's no way I can back out of this, it's too late for that now" she said with a slight grimace.

She was shoving things quickly into a black bag, silver clips with hollow points inside, protective vests (but none of them for her), knives, and what seemed to be poisoned darts. The gun in which those bullets belonged to was somewhere on her person and for the life of him he couldn't remember where she had hidden it. Her long, blonde hair was put into a high ponytail and sashayed along the middle of her back as she made her movements swift, keen, and with purpose. She was removing whatever important trace of her that was written on paper by burning it with a metal lighter that he let her use and anything he said along the lines of her stopping what she was doing earned him venomous words. So he only stood there, leaning against the wall of her office in Mishima Co. and watching her move about the room almost frantically. Something in his chest was burning terribly and he knew that was just him being irrationally angry at her for making a life-threatening decision without a second thought for anyone who cared about her. It was selfish and self-less all at the same time. Honestly he hated her. Kazuya didn't think he would ever get the chance to hate someone before (other than his own father, who hadn't croaked yet), but it turned out he hated the woman in front of him. God how he hated and loved her at the same time.

She turned to face him all of a sudden, and the look on his face caught her attention for a moment. His gaze was not returned as she turned her back on him and continued to clear her desk of every single piece of paper that tied her to Mishima Co. and its dealings. All of her personal items were in her main office at Celeste Beauty Products and she would have to discard those as well or return them back home where Edward would surely know what to do with all her stuff. All she knew is that nothing of herself could be left for anyone to find that would paint the people she cared deeply for in guilty colors.

Everything was cleared out and removed after fifteen minutes with the help of two of her bodyguards, whom she thanked graciously in french and dismissed them until she sought them out to leave. The office looked just as empty and bare as it was before Kazuya decided that it would suit her if she wanted it so she didn't have to travel back and forth between her office and his with her work stuff, it would all be right here. The black felt couch that sat against the left side of the room and the large red-wood desk that took up most of the space in the room were the only things left in the room at the moment, except for the lone picture frame of Lilian and her toddler, Lili, that she didn't seem very forthcoming in trying to take with her. She would gaze at it frequently, and an emotion akin to guilt would pass underneath her eyes but would pass just as quickly as it came.

"Are you happy now?" Kazuya spoke quietly, "the very idea that you may never see her again doesn't bother you at all?"

It was nightfall already, and everyone in Mishima Co. was gone already. The silence of the building echoed off the walls of every empty corridor and abandoned cubicle into this very room with only the two of them in it. He could hardly look at her, at her sad eyes that widened a bit at the edges, at her mouth that was upturned in a defeated frown, and at her hands that shook uncontrollably at times where she thought he wasn't looking at her. The truth was written all over her body, she was terrified by whatever it was waiting for her on the other side of the door leading out of here.

She went to move pass him, collecting her heavy bag that held parts of weapons and things she needed for the night, and meant to just leave without saying a word to him. As if she couldn't bear the thought or stand his presence any longer and an anger like no other rose in him like a wave, the way her silver eyes rolled over and passed over his head as if he were a child that didn't understand anything and could do nothing to stop whatever was going to happen. Before one of her heeled black boots even got to the threshold of the door to his left he took the chance to take both of her arms and whip her around to face him, watching her face turn from surprise to quiet reluctance to where she couldn't look at him, taking the easy way out and letting her bangs cover her eyes.

"Think, just for a second, about your family" he whispered harshly while tightening his grip on her arms slightly, God he just wanted to shake her, "are you really going to just..._abandon_ them?!"

Her eyes snapped to his and her mouth twisted up, "I could never do that to them willingly and you know that! This is the only way to protect them from what I'm doing and this is how I ensure that no one I've burned goes storming into my home and slitting their throats while I'm not there to prevent that from happening"

He understood where she was coming from, he truly did, but the mission she was about to embark on was utter suicide. "And I'm telling you that I could-

She shook herself out of his grasp and walked away from him, putting both of her hands on the desk in the middle of the room and letting her hair fall over her shoulder. "You can't do anything, and I'm not doubting your ring of connections, but I don't want you to do anything to help me whatsoever. If you didn't have people that love you and look up to you then maybe, but no. I can't let you and out of respect for me, which I know you have, you won't do anything unless I absolutely allow you to" she stated flatly.

Kazuya halted his words and glared at her back. There was another reason why he hated her. She was logical and precise, and offered clear cut opinions that no one could honestly argue against unless it happened to be him. At the point in time though, he didn't have an argument, she had stolen it from him before he even had the chance to use it. That's why he hated her deeply to his core. She was completely right and he knew, but he also knew that anything permanent to fall on her head because of what she was about to do wasn't something she was ready to handle. Like separation from her family by death. It was something that put such a fear in her that she could no longer hold the graceful and cool composure that she once had. Raw emotions that he'd never saw from her before were easily seen, and there was no longer any way for her to hide them. The fear that had heart in its grip was the possibility that she'll never see her daughter again.

He would hear the way she would speak to her over the phone, a toddler only speaking complete gibberish, and yet the bright smile that appeared on her face and the hard laughter that would bring tears to her eyes was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen from her. The love she had for her only child engulfed every aspect of her life, so much so that she was willing to do anything to ensure her future.

"I saw them the other day," she spoke with a softer tone, "your family"

Kazuya's eyes trailed to her back once more.

"I was about to get in my car to drive back here and I noticed the both of them picking out various vegetables and meats at a food stand" she chuckled a little in memory, "I could even tell you what you had for dinner that night because that's just how long I stared at the two of them"

He couldn't help the small smile that was slowly edging at the corner of his mouth, his family often got looks when he took them out somewhere.

"They're beautiful. Your wife and son. He's a little bundle of joy and he looks just like you, and her...I can see why she caught your eyes in the first place," she said while tracing objects into the table in front of her, "there's no way I would be able to forgive myself if I turned out to be the reason why you don't go back home to them, that would be cruel even for me"

Kazuya was defeated. Now his argument really meant absolutely nothing. It was cruel of him to even offer to assist her with something so dangerous, just to know there was a chance that he would possibly never come back right along with her meant that he was more enamored with her than he originally thought. It was a bit of an eye-opener to know that even at the idea that his family would grieve for him because he decided to run off with the woman in front of him meant something. It meant he was really the demon that slept within him.

There she stood with a hand covering her mouth as she weeped into it, wearing all black, in tight cargo pants and a long-sleeved shirt that showed a bit of cleavage, and black heeled boots. A mother about to go into war with no parting words to the love of her life, and he would be the last one to see her. His strides were long and quick and he had her in his arms before she could do or say anything else, kissing her while gently wiping her tears away with both of his thumbs. She returned his kiss openly and fully almost embracing all of him with the way she received and returned his kisses.

He leaned his body weight more onto her, forcing her to lean further back on the desk and give him more access to her thighs that spread just for him.

* * *

Black was just along the edges of Jin's vision as he struggled to stay awake. His chin rested on top of his knuckles and his long lashes fluttered against the temptation of sleep. He could feel eyes on him as well, enhanced hearing that made the fit of giggles from the female nurses outside of the door more apparent as they watched the sleepy prince guard over his sleeping queen. He wanted to shoo them off with a look, but the constant nodding of his head to drift off to sleep was too strong.

He felt himself falling off into the familiar abyss and he accepted the feeling with open arms, a couple minutes wouldn't hurt, and afterwards he would go home and rest properly. For now though, he would just doze and see where his sub-conscious mind takes him. What most people didn't know about him was that he was a sometimes frequent dream walker. It was something he could exactly control nor stop from happening if it decided to happen on its own, but when it did he was often amused and surprised by what he was really thinking at times.

The dream walking started when he was young, maybe around the age of twelve or thirteen, and he first discovered he could completely recall most of his dreams and sometimes even make decisions within them as if it were reality, and if he really concentrated then he could control what it was he dreamed about. The older he got the less he started to care and he realized there was absolutely no time to worry about it anymore and just left it to utter random which eventually led to him losing the control over it he once had.

Like now, when he was least expecting for something like this to happen, it happened and he found himself standing in pitch darkness with his train of thought completely open to him. He tested it and sighed deeply when he acknowledge to himself that he was dreaming, or at least about to until he could filter out the things running through his mind and at least pick out what it was he wished to see. Before any suggestion was able to make any kind of head way however, Jin noticed the darkness start to take shape and slowly color into what seemed like would become broad landscape. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion as he realized he hadn't thought of anything, yet the image around him was something he hadn't thought of nor seen before. He was dreaming yes, and completely aware that he was, but what was starting to form and shape in front of him didn't feel like his own.

The landscape surrounding him suddenly cleared and his eyes widened at the scenery around him. The sky above him was a dim pink-ish orange and the sun was setting somewhere far away. He stood in an open field with beige colored tall grass that tickled his calves, and his bare feet crunched in autumn colored leaves with every step. It was all so real and vivid that it almost frightened him. He looked down at his hands, examined them, and did the same to the rest of his body, even going so far as to attempt to wake himself up but he knew there was no hope to do that now. The hazy feeling he got pinching himself on the cheek did nothing but made the muscle cramp up in reality, which did nothing to disturb the slumbering male. He grumbled something to himself and shoved his hands in his pockets, raised his eyebrows in surprise, and looked down to find himself wearing completely different attire than the one he fell asleep in. He wore billowy, white shorts that stopped right above his knees, and a just as equally comfortable short-sleeved white shirt. It made him scratch the back of his head in confusion, but seeing the dream out to the end always satiated his curiosity and ignorance so that's what he planned to do...starting with the trail of autumn leaves leading towards a massive tree in the distance.

The closer he walked towards the tree, the more his size seemed to diminish in comparison. Something this huge and elaborate with heavy detail worked into one singular object was no work of his own mind he knew, and the more he approached it the more he felt like an intruder. The beauty of it was eye-catching enough to keep Jin's attention away from the soft conversation between two people coming from the other side and on the vibrant color of the leaves that seemed to fall from its branches in slow motion and lay on the ground without a sound. A twig snapping off to his right brought him out of his awe, to spot a woman peering at him from the side of the tree. She stood tall and graceful on the twisting and tangled roots of the giant tree and stared at him with a predatory gaze that made him stand still as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have. Her deep red dress draped over the root she stood on top of and stretched up her torso and curved over her breast to cover them in a lady-like fashion, and her blonde hair was cut neatly to settle just around the area past her shoulders. Silver eyes bore into his as she seemed to judge him without saying anything and the only thought that seemed to be running through his head at the moment was the resemblance to the portrait of the woman in Lili's home, her mother.

He blinked and he almost stumbled back as she was standing right in front of him, glaring at him as if he had murdered her newborn child straight from the cradle.

"_Dream-walker_..." she hissed.

He wanted to open his mouth to speak, but the hair on the back of his neck started to raise unexpectedly. Nothing seemed out of place with her, yet his body was reacting furiously towards her and he had no idea why. Soon, even the hairs on his arms stood on end and his pupils began to dilate as the setting around him changed drastically from the beautiful field he once saw, to a place where only a nightmare would reside. The grass bled black and turned into ash with every hesitant step he took backwards, and the tree that once captured his attention now twisted up its roots and all the life it seemed to illuminate went away with a whisp of a stench that smelled like death.

"_There is absolutely nothing stronger than the power of the mind, dream-walker..._" a female voice whispered to him.

He looked around for the source and found none, where had that woman gone? She was just standing in front of him a few moments ago and there was no where else for her to go that quickly without him noticing. He backed into something hard and he swiveled around faster than he meant to and almost losing his balance. There standing behind him was the woman he saw earlier, but it couldn't be. What stood in front of him now was nothing short of a monster. Something that could only be conjured from the deepest fear someone had personified, and it definitely wasn't his own, but it got the job done in completely making him lose all color in his face. Teeth that only a fish from the bottom of the ocean could have, flesh the color of molten coal, and nails like talons from a bird of paradise. A tail whipped furiously behind the creature and Jin's eyes widened as he dived out of the way from it striking out at him but catching his ankle instead to drag him closer. His breath came out labored and uneven as he met the creature from the ground up and he found himself frozen in the angry gaze of silver pupils. She descended upon him, landing her massive weight onto his pelvis and sucking the breath right from him as she leaned in close to devour her prey whole. Her jaws opened slowly and broke at awkward angles so she could fit most of his head in, before a certain scent caught her reeling to a stop. A guttural growl went through her body and Jin felt a crawl go up his back as cold, taloned hands reached for the collar of his shirt and pull it down to reveal the mark along his collarbone.

An angry hiss could be heard and all the weight from his person was lifted as the beautiful blue sky and gentle wind returned, as well as the tall beige grass. The natural fear in him went away, but the feeling of foreboding did not. He couldn't help but feel as if the landscape around him was just a curtain to hide its nightmarish alter ego.

"Stupid girl..." the voice sighed with disappointment, "you won't remember this dream-walker, for your sake I hope we don't meet again"

Jin could hear a shattering noise, like glass, and the sky above him literally fell on top of him. He felt himself falling into a pit of complete darkness and then he woke up, his head shooting up from his knuckles that left an imprint in his cheek. His head pounded with pain akin to a hangover and he felt as nauseous as a habitual drinker. The back of his throat throbbed painfully and a rush feeling coming from the pit of his stomach sent him running towards the nearby bathroom in the room with a hand covering his mouth. He fell to his knees in front of the porcelain toilet and his body wasted no time in emptying its contents within the bowl. After flushing the waste away, he stumbled over to the sink and used it to support his weight as put both of his hands on it while looking at his reflection in the mirror. Sluggish was the word he could say that he was feeling openly and he looked just as much of the word as he felt. His hair was atrocious and no amount of running his hands through it did anything to help him, his clothes were disheveled and wrinkled, and because he slept on his hand it looked like someone socked him right under his jaw. It was bruised and blotchy red thanks to the constant pressure from his own fist. He sighed and bent down to splash cool water on his face and rinse out his mouth from the taste of bile, once he was done, he grabbed paper towels and patted his face down dry and discarded them.

He opened the closed bathroom door and walked through the threshold and was met first with the sight of Lili laying still in her hospital bed, her golden mane long and flowing over her shoulder as she slept peacefully. His eyes lingered over her for a bit longer until he turned and left out of her room for the night, God he needed more sleep.

Jin completely missed the way her eyelids fluttered slightly while they were closed.

* * *

A/N: Before I even start the news stuff in this area, I first want to thank Cat-chan who sadly hasn't made a profile so I can PM her my thanks :/ she has kept me going with this for longer than expected and the rest of you who have done the same has gotten a PM from me, you know who you are :). To everyone else who wasn't mentioned, you are NOT forgotten and I haven't overlooked you guys either. You guys get a big ole' thank you from me as well so thank you, thank you, thank you!

Now to the news stuff! If you're down here reading this stuff, thank you for that too. Two new updates are going to be put on my profile, one in the fictional character area for Alexa Celeste and in the visonal area for the dress she wore when Lili first met her. I don't want to confuse or overwhelm you guys with her constant appearance anywhere while there's already Lilian who's fictional, and the fictional version of Lili's father as well. I don't know about the bulk of you, but I know that some readers may get annoyed when an author keeps adding characters of their own creation into the story. If this is not the case with you guys, let me know in a review and I'll sprinkle a little bit of Alexa in some areas that would make sense and not throw you guys off. Another thing to clear up is that in the story I mentioned Jin being able to _"dream-walk"_ or in other words, more or less being able to somewhat control what he dreams about and so forth. I planned to throw this little idea in from the very beginning, this is not something that just magically and spontaneously came to my mind while eating food, I've been slowly developing how it would turn out since...chapter four. Slowly, but surely this concept has been working its way to its semi-climax and here it is. Revealing the truth about it in later chapters will tie up a lot of loose ends in this story, and happens to be the unique factor in this story. Also, "_dream-walking_" as I call it, is a real thing and people can actually do it! In my case, I can't control it whatsoever, it either happens or it doesn't but I don't try to force it. You can look up more information about it or witness accounts on Google, I just happened to grow curious about it one day and searched for some answers.

****Alert**** Sadly, my power will be going off tomorrow and won't be coming back on until Friday, which is why I uploaded this chapter today so you guys won't have to wait so long. Just know that I won't be able to make any head way with chapter fourteen until Friday. Nothing is stopping, just my progress of writing due to terrible weather and bad electricity routing in this building -.- the notice went out yesterday.

**Fun Fact** I changed the name for this chapter _three_ times. It went from Dream World, to Sacrificial Lamb, to The Land of Dreams, back to Dream World. For the life of me I could not make up my mind.

As usual, thank you all for reading and reviewing and don't be afraid to help me out with mistakes either or just things in the story you don't like. We're all on the same team here, and I apologize for this author's note being so damn long there was just a lot of things to cover before I ended it, Happy Reading! ~Sasusakui


	14. Chapter 14

**He is the Dragon**

Chapter 14

Painful light shining behind a sleeping female's eyes made them shoot open, much to the holder of the holder light's distress. She was a female nurse who was making her rounds in the intensive care unit with a short, brunette bob that framed and accentuated her forest, green eyes. Compared to the young woman she was caring for, she was incredibly short. The name written on her tag above her breast read, Misuki Hakudoshi, and a sleepy eyed Lili could only glare at the light bouncing right off of it and into her sensitive eyes. She squinted at the half seen nurse, wondering what she was here for if it wasn't to give her any pain medication. And speaking of pain, a large dosage of it rolled through her whole body like a powerful torrent. It brought tears to the corner of her eyes yet there was nothing she could express with her mouth just yet, and she had to settle with only being able to tighten her grip on her bed sheets.

Her eyes searched for any sort of familiarity in the room and found none, only seeing four bland white walls that had nothing on them. The light already on in the room already seemed bright enough, like the very sun was there on the ceiling shining down into her face. She could hardly keep her eyes open any longer.

"This is amazing," the woman whispered as she looked at her patient, "I've never seen this before..."

The blood running hot in the blonde's ears made hearing what the woman was saying impossible. The only thing she could hear was her strong heartbeat pumping blood through her body, and her heavy breathing. She grimaced at the bland walls and antiseptic smell wafting through every corner of the room. This was a hospital alright, and if her cracked memory served her right she would be in this bed for awhile. Lili shut her eyes and tried to let herself rest a bit more, staying awake was becoming a chore and hopefully the more she stayed asleep the more she would forget the dark feeling that something terrible happened to her favorite red-head.

* * *

Kazuya slowly opened his eyes to the mid-afternoon sun peaking through his dark curtains and casting his bedroom in an orange glow. Dark, long lashes framed his equally dark, onyx eyes as he stared up at the ceiling. He didn't have to be in the office earlier that day and he took advantage of that and ended up sleeping the whole day and afternoon away. Anna wasn't completely useless, she would be able to run his side of the building for a day or two before she would blow up his phone and yell at him to get his lazy ass back to work. Until then, he would bleed his free hours dry. It wasn't too often he just took off work anyway, so he more or less thought he deserved this.

Four hours from then would make it nightfall and he decided that he would get up and venture into the city once night fell. His toned and muscled back met the warmth of the sun as he sat up in his bed and swung his legs over to stand on the cold, wooden floor. A strong yawn came from the back of his throat as he walked towards his large, awaiting bathroom and he began to shed the only piece of clothing he had on.

:::

Steam gathering on the mirror in front of him was wiped away, as Kazuya examined the mark on his chest. He had grown use to seeing it and found himself just a touch dismayed at the fact that it was starting to fade a little. He touched it with soft, wet fingers and wasn't surprised that he didn't feel any pain coming from it. The soreness stopped maybe a week ago, and it left him the opportunity to actually touch it the way he wanted to. The indentation of the teeth marks had him completely mystified.

His attention wavered from the pale thing, to his still wet and dripping hair and he toweled it dry while walking back into his bedroom where he had his clothes laid out for himself. He hadn't been out for awhile, opting for late nights in the office instead of a late night on the streets, and he was a man of strong libido. If he wasn't so busy with mountains of paperwork then there would be a different female with him every other night. The way his life was setup, he just didn't have the time for the more succulent half of the human race. It was his own undoing that he hadn't relented and let Jin just run the whole thing and he would have all the time in the world to indulge in the other sex as much as he wanted. _Just another decision I have to live with I guess..._

The objective for the night was set, and he decided if he was going to have time to himself, which was rare, then he would make the absolute best of it. Deep red velvet blazer that he left open for eyes to see, white button up underneath except it wasn't buttoned all the way up and showed a peek of his mouth watering chest, dark jeans that hung a bit off his waist and covered the top of his brown Olukai Honolulu Lace shoes, with his family's insignia hanging around his neck on a silver chain. He knew exactly what he was doing, and exactly whom he was targeting for the night. A beautiful woman, one whose expectations were low in the eyes of a man, who didn't expect anything in return from him, and would idolize him for as long as she had his company. Those kind of women were everywhere, and they latched onto him whenever they could. He would take advantage of their obsession and use them for everything they were worth and toss them aside like used cattle. It may seem cruel in the eyes of other women, but the rumors about him were true. He was a lady killer, and if he wanted a woman worthy of being next to him for as long as Jun was or just someone he couldn't stay away from like Lilian was, then he would make the effort out of looking. But for now, he wasn't interested. He would never find two women like them again that made him see different sides of the world. One ugly and one beautiful. He was tired of lamenting over them, he had enough of feeling like he was lost without them as well and for once, he just wanted to feel in control, and this is how he did it. To hell with what people thought about his methods.

His footsteps stomped heavily going down the stairs and he gave the inside of his house one final look over before he grabbed his house keys off the counter and made his way through the living room and towards his front door. Outside was cool and breezy, just right for the mood he was in as twisted the lock on the door shut and signaled to his two bodyguards nearby that they were leaving with him tonight. They both looked at each other, completely ecstatic that they were going with him for a sure fun filled night. It was going around the small sect of bodyguards that he had that whoever had the privilege of going out with the boss, would never forget it. Only the best clubs that they never had the chance to get into before, the best most expensive strip clubs, and five star restaurants that their boss had the generosity to treat them to. Almost like giddy high schoolers with a smidgen of self-control they followed him towards his all white Navigator. The door was opened for him to climb inside and the two body guards rode up front. Inside was completely silent as he was driven down his driveway and leaving out his iron gates and onto the street.

* * *

"So...she'll be okay?"

Jin nodded quietly and Asuka seemed to gain color back into her face after she was told in full detail what he had seen standing there at the scene of the crime. He wondered vaguely where her change of heart regarding his fiance came into play, but he figured she was just a caring person and worried about anyone if they suddenly got caught up in something dangerous. He wasn't oblivious to the rivalry the two seemed to have and he knew his cousin wished no harm on the blonde's head, maybe to one day best her in a fight (which he's heard she's done before) maybe, but never wish her death.

"The guy driving the car..." she paused slightly, trying to gather her bearings, "they said he died of an overdose right when the accident occurred"

"I was there. They aren't trying to cover up anything when they say he died because of that. The foam leaking from his mouth was a giveaway" Jin told her as he drank from the mug she offered him earlier.

After he took his needed power nap once he was done visiting Lili in the hospital, he woke to his cousin insistent pleading for him to come over to her family's lodge that she was staying in by herself until she went back to Osaka, and talk to her about what happened, claiming that it wasn't healthy to keep what he was feeling bottled up when she was right there to listen to him. So begrudgingly he went to her, figuring she would never leave him alone if he didn't and reminded himself that he was trying to open up to her more considering she was the piece of family he had left that didn't include the ones he couldn't tolerate. And that's how he ended up there. Alone with his cousin who made him hot chocolate. He didn't get how she remembered all these many years later that the specific beverage was his favorite, but he appreciated the peace offering.

She meant to have a serious sit down with him, but the fact that she was in pajama bottoms that were stamped with pictures of bunnies on them left no seriousness in the air so he tried to look elsewhere and his eyes eventually wandered to her bountiful chest. He honestly couldn't help it, they were almost falling out of her white tank top, and he was a man, and if he kept staring he would eventually be caught.

"Jin" she called.

His eyes went to meet her's and all he saw next was her fist slamming itself right into his nose. A painful crunch sounded as the chair he sat in tilted backward in response to the force and his body went sailing right along with it. Both objects landed on the floor with a thud and Jin could do nothing but groan in pain and cradle the area around his nose with his hand. God she could punch.

"I'm gonna change so we can have a normal conversation, until then you can put some ice on your face" she said while parting the room with a growl.

He groaned in response and she smiled to herself, feeling offly satisfied with the slight throb in her fist.

One over-sized bunny shirt, a re-set nose, and two ice packs later, the two siblings eventually moved to the long couch that sat against the wall on the far side of the room. The moon settled in its place in the sky and shined right through the windows, more moonlight reflected off the lake outside and Asuka finally knew why she favored this place so much as a child.

She sat with her knees to chest and faced Jin as he seemed to stare off into space, stuck in what ever thoughts he happened to be thinking about, when a thought came in her head that she couldn't wait to ask him about.

"Hey. Do you love her?" she asked with no hesitation.

His eyebrows rose and his head swung to her in surprise, the most emotion she's ever seen herself on his face. It was a given just who the 'her' was, and the only woman they'd been talking about for the past twenty minutes or so.

"Where did that come from?" he asked her after regaining most of the composure he lost.

She shrugged and he sighed, one of the many reasons why he tried to avoid Asuka as much as he could, "It would be impossible to love someone I don't know"

Her head tilted to the side to lay on her shoulder as she tried to see what emotion was going through his eyes now, but his bangs were in the way. As much as her cousin would like to think he couldn't be read, he was an open book to someone like her who was honest with her own thoughts and feelings. Most of the truth with him lied in his eyes, but for right now those were covered.

"Well why don't you try to know her?" she asked openly.

"Because we are only getting married to achieve the mutual benefits our companies will receive should they cooperate with one another, that's it. I don't have an interest in knowing her" he said almost flatly.

Geez. Asuka didn't know that he was so unhappy by the situation he was put in, and it made her feel bad for him. She was sure the last thing he needed was her pity but still, she couldn't help but feel for him. However, it irritated her when he felt the need to put up a barrier with her. For someone who claimed they didn't wish to know someone else, he made it his business to visit her in the hospital, and also appear at the scene of the accident almost ten minutes after it happened despite the horrible traffic it caused on that road for about a week. He may not want to inquire about the blonde, but on some level...he cared. _He's hopeless..._

The mischievous side of Asuka wanted to test her theory, but hopefully by doing so she wouldn't ignite her elder cousin's wrath.

"Well...then I guess you could care less what happens to her now. The situation she's found herself in is sad sure, but in a way it might give you a chance to escape whatever deal has you tied to her. The cost could be bad towards the company if what you say is true, but if it's to save you years of constant headache then who cares?" she said nonchalantly.

She peeked at him when he didn't respond to her and found that his eyes were trained on her, almost seeming to bore into her very soul. A slight sinking feeling in her chest later turned into a plummeting sensation, but nothing beat the emotion of being right going through her veins.

"I knew it," she said smug with a sly smile to her features, "you care about miss thang" she sang a little.

The sides of his mouth twitched, "I said no such thing"

"You didn't have to. I spoke bad about her in your presence and you almost speared me with your beady little eyes!" she said with a laugh.

His cheeks were beginning to color a little in embarrassment and soon sulking would come next.

"You can talk bad about her all you want, what would it matter to me!?"

The cheeky smile she had plastered on his face made it known that she wouldn't accept his little temper tantrum as something that meant he didn't care about his supposedly horrible fiance. Knowing Jin though, he just chalked it up as him not wanting anything life-threatening to happen to the girl. Otherwise, he could care less about what she did or whom she was with.

Asuka continued to waggle her eyebrows at him and his eyebrow twitched and he turned his head from her, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance and then wincing because he forgot about the pain nestled there. Everything he was feeling at the moment was Asuka's fault and maybe he should've taken his chances by avoiding her like he originally thought.

"I should go" he murmured.

She pouted, "What a chicken way out...but if you must then maybe you should. While your at it, I think you should sleep more too. You look tired"

Jin suppressed the yawn rising in his chest and opted to stand instead, "If I find out anything else involving your friend's condition I'll tell you"

The brunette bristled, "Who said anything about her-

"You clearly did. I don't think I've ever answered that many questions before pertaining to her before from you, I think you've gone soft for someone you once said was a _monster_" he said while walking towards the door.

She crossed her arms, "That's because she is when she spots something that she wants"

Jin could only chuckle a little at her attempt to deny what was true and a hot blush crept across Asuka's face at the embarrassing accusation. There's no way she considered that snob a friend, or even an acquaintance of the sort! Jin was just trying to avoid the fact that he fancied her in the slightest. _What an ass!_

"I'll cheer for you the whole way down that aisle Jin!" she said to him as a parting gift.

* * *

Bouncing in and out of consciousness seemed to be Lili's specialty as a number of doctor's crowded her hospital room. From what she could make out herself they were perplexed by something having to do with her eyes, which is why they kept forcefully opening her tired eyes and shining bright light into them. She couldn't see the importance of her corneas when the real problem relied with her whole body. Where were her meds and why hadn't they administered them into her blood stream yet? God everything hurt everywhere.

She happened to groan in protest to another shine of light being passed over her eyesight and the doctors around her murmured amongst each other in surprise. What the hell were they so surprised about anyway?

"Can you speak to us Ms. Rochefort?" a stern voice from the crowd of doctors spoke.

The blonde couldn't differentiate one medical doctor from the next and managed to groan her response. Whoever asked her the question thought it was an appropriate time to chuckle aloud and continue examining her eyes with the rest of his colleagues.

"You may wonder what exactly we're doing, and I'm telling you this more for your state of mind rather than just to tell you. But our main focus is solely your eyes at this moment," he hesitated for a moment, "if you haven't noticed already"

She would roll her eyes if one of the doctor's fingers wasn't painfully shoving her eyelids apart.

"It seems you have a strong case of Heterochromia Iridum- otherwise known as one having two different eye colors"

Lili's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. It was one weird thing after the next. First that weird dream and now the doctors telling her that she had two different eye colors when she'd grown up with her father's crystal blue's for as long as she could remember. Once upon a time she wished for her mother's eye color once when she watched her mother putting mascara on the lids of her beautiful eyes. It was many times that her mother commended her for having the bluest eyes she's ever seen on someone before, but at the time the young Lili would hear none of it. She wanted the color of her mother's eyes and that was final. Funny how she seemed to remember things of her childhood where after something has happened.

"Usually this condition is hereditary and up until now your eyes have been one solid color, until one of your nurses came in to check on you last and saw that one was different from the other," the doctor's intrigued voice only seemed to further make Lili nervous rather than confident that he would take care of her, "I have a theory that it's because of the nature of your accident that caused stress within your eyes somehow, but we'll have to run some tests of course..."

For some reason, the word "tests" elicit such a fear in her that tears began to prick at the corner of her eyes. Luckily, no one seemed to notice this as they began to prod the rest of her body.

"Another thing I found remarkable," the doctor spoke to his colleagues around him rather than to the blonde herself, "the rate in which her body recovered from its most damaging wounds is almost abnormal. Spinal damage that could've very well left her forever paralyzed, fractured pelvis, completely shattered themur in both legs, right lung collapse, and ribs puncturing some of her most vital organs. All of that, if not almost completely mended, then completely gone. The only thing that should be giving her trouble now is the soreness of her heavily bruised muscles all over her body, nevertheless, we should take the opportunity that's presented to us"

_What the major fuck?_ Her breath nearly left from her completely as she began to feel as if she was suspended in a horror movie in which the doctor liked to see inside other people, not caring at all that the person under operation may still be alive and completely conscious. She wanted to move and get away from said prying eyes, but she felt too exhausted to move and the attempt alone put her in such immense pain that it sent most of her body into short and painful spasms. Her eyelids were closing, sleep was calling and the last thing that was clear on her ears was the compliment of the beauty of her eyes.

* * *

Soft music wafted through the air of the club and from both peripheral views, Kazuya saw the enticing women gliding their way up or down chrome poles. Some were obviously more flexible than others, while others were better dancers than some. Women of all color walked around his small entourage and offered them drinks, knowing there was money to come and rain upon them. Just his kind of atmosphere.

He took a seat in front of the main stage and crossed his legs, having the sort of atmosphere that said nothing at the moment could please him and attempting to would be extremely futile. A female danced in front of him, spreading her legs wide and squatting her way down as her doe eyes fell on him for the first time. Long, black, wavy hair stopped right above her waist, and her body was nicely proportioned. Her breast were pushed up and mostly exposed thanks to the dark blue luminescent halter top she wore that matched the tight panties that let some of her cheeks hang out. The way she looked at him made it apparent that she was attracted, and that in itself would ensure that he would get the best show he's ever had. She hauled herself up and flipped herself upside down, letting her legs fall to either side of her body as she slowly spun.

That was the reaction she was looking for, as minuscule as it was. The simple raise of his eyebrows as he stared at her filled her with immense pride and she smiled at him from her upside down view.

"We don't get many big fish in here," she said to him over the soft and sultry music, "I would ask what brings you, but all of you men come for the same reason"

His eyes followed her every movement as she slowly flipped herself right side up and sliding back down to land on the platform that extended out towards him. She sat with her back facing him, dancing while on her knees, and letting the music take her to a place that only had the two of them in it.

_I'm the dragon, you're the whore_

_don't even know what you're good for,_

_mimicking me is a fucking bore, to me_

_I fucked my up to the top, this is my show..._

Before he knew it, she was climbing onto his lap and putting a hand on his chest to gently lean him back. He spread his arms out on both armrests of the comfy chair, and watched amused as she reached into one of his pockets and plucked out one of his cigarettes and lighter. She grabbed his chin with arm fingers and guided the death stick into his mouth, and lighting it for him all in one breath.

A satisfied smirk caressed her tanned skin, "Something just told me you had one on you"

He puffed out a cloud into the air and she watched the fumes go with interest, opening her mouth so she could pass it back out through her lips as well. What a treat...

"What's your name?" he asked.

_But you haven't seen my man,_

_You haven't seen my man, _

_you haven't seen my man_

_you haven't seen him..._

_He's got that fire, and he walks with fame..._

_He's got that fire, and he talks with fame..._

_His Bonnie on the side, Bonnie on the side_

_makes me a sad, sad girl..._

If the motions of his all white truck was any indication that he wouldn't find a suitable place to have sex with her then he didn't know what else would point to the known fact. She had no trouble removing what little clothing she already had on and his as he let her do all the heavy lifting, opting to just watch her with hooded onyx eyes. Her mouth opened slightly as she lowered herself onto him, bucking her hips at a moderate pace until her toes began to curl and she made wrinkles in his shirt with her hands. Her small to loud gasps as she rode him filled the capacity of the vehicle as it shook with their romp, dismissing the fact that her 'break' would end in about fifteen seconds. He watched as she began to eye his chest, probably wondering what kind of muscle lied underneath.

Fingers reached for the buttons of his shirt and he suddenly found himself grabbing her wrist and holding it by her side. This didn't seem to please her, but she feigned ignorance and reached with her other hand. Before he could think, he reacted, and snapped her neck so fast that he had to blink to make sure what just happened, really just happened.

_Shit..._

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter was incredibly short compared to the last three, but this is only because I didn't want to head back in Jin's p.o.v. I realize now though that that idea is kind of stupid because in the next update it's going to start off with him anyway *sigh* Welp, expect the next installment to come out sooner than usual because of this and enjoy what you've got now. Also the song lyrics in this chapter come from two different Lana del Rey songs (I love that woman *o*) one called Sad Girl and the other called Fucked My Way to the Top. I suggest you check them both out because they both surprisingly fit the theme I was going for, and if you can try to figure out who the 'Dragon' is. It's not the obvious person I may be pointing to, bluntly speaking, it's not Kazuya. But the he's got that fire part, definitely Kazuya because I can't imagine anyone else filling that role other than him.

Happy Reading Guys, and don't forget to leave behind a little review if you can :D ~Sasusakui

P.S - I might not change my pen name after all, I don't know, maybe. Considering sasuke and sakura are no longer my favorite crack couple -.-


	15. Chapter 15

** Reign of the King**

Chapter 15

Kazuya sat upright in his office chair, staring at a simple piece of paper on his desk that only required a simple yes or no answer. His favorite pen was in his right hand, and his thoughts were clenched tightly in his left. Despite what was being asked of him was considerably easy he couldn't answer as if it were. The way his eyebrows were drawn together and his eyes were glued to the text written would make anyone think he was making an important decision that could result in the end of the world based on what he chose, but it was quite the opposite.

In laymen terms, it read as follows:

_Hey! We need water bottles, and not the cheap kind either, the good stuff! As well as a cooler,_

_Thanks in Advance, the sister company you don't really like because we one time sabotaged some of our own equipment and sent it to your company under the guise that it was completely operational._

It had nothing to do with water bottles, they were really in actuality, weapons of mass destruction capable of leveling cities and wiping all life from a small neighborhood. The leader of this sister company was small time in comparison to the others and Kazuya personally didn't care for the swine-eyed, half-pint, of a man but the product in which he produced was something to be admired. However, because of not too recent events the company could do very well without the use of the him and Kazuya had the power to squash him if he so desired, but he was waiting for the right moment. The reason he was contemplating so hard with this was because he was assessing whether this was the time to cut him down or not.

With a small, devilish smirk at his sudden revelation, it was crystal clear that the time was now and there was nothing like the present. The best time to strike would be when he asked for help, which he was doing now. All Kazuya had to do was make a few phone calls and a couple of his officers would storm that place like a wave and destroy everything, which would lead to the downfall of the sister company and maybe the birth of another in its stead, whatever the case, Mishima Co. would be fine.

Feeling satisfied after hearing the affirmative from the commanding officer after making the call, Kazuya leaned back in his chair and breathed out a sigh. His eyes narrowed as he rose his right hand to meet his line of sight, remembering the way that pulsing piece of flesh felt when he had it curled up in his fingers. What he did last night was sudden and reckless. He almost feared what he would've done had he not had a clear head at the time and was able to cover his tracks well enough that it would be impossible for anyone to find out what _really_ happened to that girl. Still, his reaction to her reaching out and trying to touch his chest did not warrant him snapping her neck in two and even knowing this logically he still _felt_ that his actions were justified emotionally.

Starting to feel threatened by the treacherous path that his psyche was taking, he did what most men his age did to avoid any kind of deep thinking: _drank_. There was a large bottle of Smirnoff in the small cooler disguised as a drawer under his desk and all he had to do was reach inside and pluck out the alcoholic beverage and single shot glass to go along with it. It clanged hard in front of him on his desk and he popped the cork off with just the tip of his thumb, watching it go flying somewhere across the room faintly with the slight motion of his eyes. Vapor seeped into the air slightly as the clear liquid was poured into the glass and eventually swirling around the back of his throat as he swallowed it straight, grimacing a little at the potency of the taste. Already he could feel the familiar lurching deep in his chest that let him know that the gene was rejecting what was being put into him, but as usual he was able to fight off the resistance and consume another glass of what was in front of him.

"Something must be bothering you if you're drinking this early and this heavily, I can smell it from here"

Kazuya blinked slowly and wondered how was it so that he was losing his touch when it came to people being able to sneak up on him. His senses must be dulled for whatever reason. _They weren't when that girl tried to touch me, my reaction time was impeccable..._

"What of it Anna?" he asked while downing another shot.

Her eyebrows rose as she leaned on the door frame leading into his office, "It must be really bad if you actually miss the chance to deny that something _is_ wrong with you"

"There's something wrong with everyone, some are just better at hiding it than others," his eyes met her's for a moment, "take Rochefort for example. We all know the guy has more than a couple screws loose"

She stared at him for a moment before sitting down in a chair that occupied the corner of the office, crossing her leg over the other as she did so. It was then that Kazuya noticed her drastic change in appearance after giving her a quick once over. She wore slightly loose, black leather pants, dark heeled boots, and a blood red sweater shirt that was long-sleeved with a neckline that actually didn't travel too far down for once. He wondered what made her re-evaluate her wardrobe at some point and figured it must be a boyfriend, someone that she just might be serious about enough to change part of herself to please him. Her short hair was also different he realized, as it seemed she was just beginning to start letting it grow and it now rested plainly on her shoulders.

All of this caused him to swallow down another shot.

Anna shook her head a little as she crossed her arms and continued to look at him. How the man stayed alive with all the bodily harm he was doing to himself, she would never know. Nevertheless, she didn't walk to his office just for the sole purpose of chalking it up with him. He would eventually start to ignore her should that happen anyway, and with the news she was going to lay on him at the moment she would really like to keep away from him.

"Your half brother is back in town..."

A chink sounding like glass made her halt in the middle of her sentence, and she was almost sure she wouldn't be able to get the next words out of her mouth. The shot glass he had in his hand earlier was currently in discarded pieces as he simply brushed the debris off his palms, not a cut or wound to be seen on said flesh. He didn't trust himself with the back up shot glass if Anna was there to deliver him news like Lars making a re-appearance back in Tokyo.

A faint luminescent glow around his right (left?) eye was what Anna spotted before she could no longer hold his angry gaze, her gaze literally glued to her lap. She would only catch a glimpse of the ruby color making itself known rarely, and from what she knew, it only shined when he was under extreme emotion of any kind. Here it was now, burning like a dying star as it was turned upon her. The sinking sway of her stomach made her want to throw up.

"You're a smart woman Anna, and I commend you for your way of thinking sometimes, but the smartest thing you can do from now on is to _never_ refer to that half-breed as any kin of mine in my presence again"

The walls seemed to be closing in on her, and she couldn't swallow the small lump forming in her throat. It was then that Anna recognized the true power of that eye, and she didn't even know if Kazuya was aware of it himself.

"Right. Just know he wants to meet with you around the end of this week, and he won't take no for an answer"

He could only roll his eyes, the intensity of his devil gene afflicted eye growing weak enough for it to once more be hidden away by the contact that hovered over it. "Of course the fool won't take no for an answer, but it matters not...anyone that stands in my way will be annihilated"

It seemed that Lars only existed to destroy anything and everything he had ever worked for and Kazuya chalked it up to petty jealousy that turned into a deep dislike. He couldn't remember when the hatred started between them, but a mutual intolerance for one another turned into burning fury after things were done and other things were said. Pretty soon they were out for one another's throats every opportunity that arose, until they were no longer satisfied with just beating each other up to a pulp, but soon wanted each other to lose everything.

They started playing smart and going after what would hurt each other the most. For Kazuya, at the time, it was his family and business, and for Lars it was his role as the throw away child of Heihachi, the child that was left unwanted and without purpose. Now he was back. After finally thinking he could be rid of the nuisance that happened to share blood with him, Kazuya receives word that he's returned. And for what? Why now? His motives didn't matter, especially when Mishima Co. was currently on its last legs as it were.

Sensing the dark aura in the office growing heavier by the passing moment, Anna took her opportunity and stood, planning to leave while she still could before her boss started to misplace his anger with her. However, before she could even step one foot out the door Kazuya noticed.

"When the time is appropriate, let Jin know that his uncle has crawled out of whatever hell hole he's been hiding himself in for almost a decade"

* * *

Darkness surrounded every corner of the room and cold temperatures that only fit the dead bit at the flesh of the young woman lying in her bed. Despite the atmosphere of her surroundings though, she was at peace and slept without pain like the deceased, so much so that if someone were to shine a light on her they would think she really were at first glance. Her breath came out through her nose, and her chest rose and fell at a fairly slow rate despite her completely restored state.

Unbeknownst to the sleeping maiden, her fate was being decided prematurely between three men that stood outside her closed bedroom door. Two out of the three had little to do with one another, but shared a common goal. Together, those two men spoke on their agreement and what all it entailed at the expense of the pretty sleeping blonde, however, the third man remained a spectator to all things spoken.

"I've seen so much of her overseas," a slight baritone voice said in crisp, but accented Japanese, "she's praised as the foreign flower of Japan so I hear"

The spectator of the group plastered one of his pristine, calm, and small smiles on his face. Giving off the persona that he was nicer than he really was, "Well the young miss is good at what she does"

_Good at being pretty, not so much of anything else_. "My daughter takes after her mother on that aspect," Edward added.

The father gave the younger man in front of him another once over. He may have the face of any other male model that made young women go weak in the knees, but he had the heart of a demon and the mind of a ruthless god. It was a horrible mix, but the elder male had an ulterior motive like he always did and planned to use the youth blinded by revenge. His hard and deep blue eyes were filled with a horrible hatred that would not be shaken unless his thirst was quenched, Edward could see it clearly.

Handsome square jaw, thick dirty blonde eyebrows, cheekbones that weren't too cut as of yet which gave him his youthful appearance, minor full lips, and a strong nose. He was the honest epitome of male beauty that only seemed to be a product of his large and extensive family tree and yet somehow he claimed to be thirty-two. No doubt, his fairly young age would make it easier for Edward to sink his poisonous fangs into him. As smart as he was, he was in over his head due to inexperience and was trying to run with two big dogs that would eat him alive should the moment arise.

What Edward didn't know, was that the young male had clear knowledge that he was being used and in return held a certain power over Edward that he was yet to be aware of. He held within him, information regarding someone that also once held immense power over Edward and it was because of that that he could not be destroyed by anyone at any moment in time.

Edward could see the readiness in the young male's eyes and gestured for him to go into his daughter's bedroom as he pleased, leaving him to his lonesome with Sebastian because he could hardly stomach the thought of yet another man having any kind of sexual involvement with his own daughter. The very idea sounded and tasted foreign to him, and he would rather deny its existence than admit openly that its something that has to be done. He could only consider men just as weak and expendable as many women believed them to be. Dangle something nice and pretty in front of them and it made it ten times easier to use them through that same woman (although he wasn't sure why exactly Jin Kazama was a different story when it came to Emilie, they seemed to have a healthy dosage of dislike for one another). Edward already knew that he was one male that had no room to speak about men and how easily they fell prey to a pretty face when he was once that same male, and was used over and over again by his late wife. Now he was the one using others to make his own ends meet, and it felt damn good. He also considered himself one of the lucky few that could use his offspring in such away, and what a great bargaining chip she came out to be.

Still, a sour and possessive tone in his voice clipped his words in response to sharing something he only felt belonged to him, she was only his for him to use and abuse as he saw fit, but sacrifices had to be made if he wished to have what he wanted ultimately and that was the entire Mishima Corporation. _Imagine that_. Someone without the Mishima name running the Mishima company, just the thought of it almost made him hard with pleasure.

The not quite so young male watched the average height father walk away from his presence and thought nothing of him, and instead turned his attention to the butler that was still present. If memory served him right, his name was Sebastian. He questioned when his use ran short as he still stood there long after his master rounded the corner, and it was beginning to put the young man off.

"I don't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, Mr. Alexandersson, but there is something I must inform you of should you truly be involved with the sole heir to the Celeste family" Sebastian said with his signature smile.

_Ah. The sole heir of the family yet didn't carry the name...interesting. _He feigned polite interest and gestured for the butler to go on.

"There are things regarding the Celeste family line that no one outside of it should know, and it has been this way for as long as my family line has been serving them. Just because you are involved with her, does not mean you are entitled to such knowledge, however, whatever offspring you two shall create will have the knowledge of the Celeste line" he calmly informed.

Lars couldn't hear any sort of challenge in the elder man's voice, and the cocky side of him wanted to test that theory. It wasn't like he could necessarily do anything anyway.

"What's her's will be mine and vice versa as the possessions of all married couples..." the dirty blonde trailed off.

The rest of his words died in his mouth as he noticed the small change in the butler's facial expression. The smile still rested on the old man's face, but the change occurred in the size of the smile, a little wider than before and giving him a creepy animation. This specific smile also happened to reach his eyes for the first time. Something about this person was off. Strange and dark, something that Lars would have no part in.

Once the butler seemed to be sure the younger male wouldn't rise to challenge him again any time soon, his facial features returned to what it once was, putting Lars back at ease. Or at least as calm as he could be.

"You and I will have another talk soon about the rules of this house, including the one that involves discrepancy. You may see things that may make you question your sanity, and you may feel things you originally wouldn't have before, but this is your choice. It is of the up most importance that no one discover the Celeste legacy, lest I shall have to take rather drastic measures to preserve something that I've been trained to guard for fifty-one years. I have duties to attend to now, good day to you Mr. Alexandersson" he said politely bowing and excusing himself.

Once the butler rounded the corner and disappeared, Lars decided to forget the whole ordeal that transpired between him and Sebastian for the sake of his pride. However, he kept the unspoken warning in the back of his head for later references as it seemed that it would keep him alive should he remember it. All hope wasn't completely lost for the real reason on why he wanted to get close to this family, other than the fact that the head of the household wanted to topple his half-brother's company completely. His goal happened to be guarded completely by a interesting opponent, one that he didn't have the luxury to figure out the angle he plays if he was to obtain what he wanted in the allotted time.

Lars put his palm fully on the grand and elaborate doors to the young girl's bedroom and pushed it open slowly so he wouldn't wake her, shivering slightly at the cold air that leaked from the inside. His steps didn't falter as he slipped in and softly shut the door behind him with a soft _click_, and he bravely reached to his right along the wall and felt the cold touch of the light switch. Was everything inside this room cold and dark?

Light bled in and he instinctively squinted so the sudden light wouldn't affect his eyesight too much, and soon everything was illuminated for him to see. He thought surely that the sudden and invasive change of atmosphere would wake the young girl, but to his surprise and delight it did not and he finally laid eyes on her sleeping form.

She slept on her stomach with her hair cascading over her folded arms that supported her head, and he observed her long lashes brushing along the outer most area of her eye sockets. Big fluffy white sheets and pillows obscured the rest of her body from his sight and he took the chance to approach her, reaching out his hand to graze it along the strands of her hair. _Like silk..._

Her eyes opened and she shot up like a light, a gasp not too far from her lips as she noticed a complete stranger standing in her room. His hand retreated back to his side almost too fast for her to see, but the reaction on his face was clear, her sudden alertness was not expected. They seemed to freeze for a moment in time, just staring at each other, and his deep blue eyes were more oceanic than her's use to be, and her eyes were such an off-putting and beautiful mix of two colors that he was entrapped within her gaze. Until they narrowed at him in anger and suspicion and he was reminded of where he was and why. They didn't say anything to each other for awhile longer and he watched as her eyes glanced away from his own and she seemed to take him in fully, as she did so he did the same, and saw that she was quite the delicate looking female. Her tanned, ivory flesh was covered up by the dainty night dress she slept in. It was a light lilac color and had skinny straps as it revealed no cleavage whatsoever, but a slightly see through length that revealed her dark lace underwear underneath.

"Who are you?" she finally asked after shifting uncomfortably under his intense gaze.

He gave her his most dazzling smile and it caused her cheeks to color slightly in embarrassment and his stride was long and strong as he approached her bed and sat down close to her. The close proximity naturally made her nervous and watch his every move like a nervous rabbit. He moved his arm slowly, and she followed the action with her eyes and giving him a questionable look as he gathered her chin up in his palm and held it there while examining her pretty face. Her pulse thumped wildly against the back of his hand, and he could see something akin to fear begin to cloud her eyes as he leaned towards her again making her heartbeat react. The color in her face deepened as he began to close in on her, his chest beginning to graze along her own and on a whim both of her hands flew up to his chest to stop him, but he pressed on.

His cool lips grazed against the side of her mouth and smoothed along the contour of her face along her cheek all the way to her ear, where he said,

"I am your husband"

* * *

"Discharged?"

The nurse in front of him nodded her head, completely enamored with his handsome, front page worthy face, and lazy boy swagger. She saw him frequently on entertainment news and she almost couldn't believe he was standing in front of her right at this moment. Four years of schooling however kept her in the calm range of professionalism, but being a young woman seeing the figment of her fantasies in reality had her just along the edge of fainting. God, where was her voice?

The gears in Jin's head was turning as he processed the information that was given to him. It was virtually impossible for what the nurse told him to be true. When he left from here last, Lili was barely alive. The slightest disturbance in any of her treatment could kill her, or regress any good progress she's made thus far. Any ICU patient wouldn't be given approval by their doctor to be withdrawn anyway. Speaking of doctor, Jin just happened to take a glance at his surroundings and noticed one that previously assured him that he would take care of her once they arrived at the hospital the night of the accident. He wasn't sure then if they would come back and tell him there was nothing they could do and he would be left not knowing how to feel, but now that it was made blatantly obvious by Asuka that he did have some level of caring when it came to the blonde female, he had a feeling he knew deep down how he would react. Just the thought of it made his pride simmer slightly.

The tall, lanky male was heading towards the front doors of the place, and if the box of cigarettes in his hand was any indication, he was currently chasing after his smoke break. Before he completely lost sight of him, Jin regarded the still star-dazed female and nodded her thanks at her, and leaving promptly before she could do or say anything more. Completely missing the way she finally breathed out a sigh of relief and fainted in the safety area behind the desk.

Cool brisk air hit Jin's face pleasantly as he approached the doctor in the middle of trying to get his lighter to ignite. Forest green eyes flashed in his direction quickly before a double take ensured that the doctor recognized Jin as his patient's fiance. After finally getting his cigarette lit and inhaling fully before exhaling a large, impressive cloud, Jin finally had the man's attention.

"You're probably wondering where your fiance is" the doctor said plainly.

Jin couldn't help but bristle at the title of the girl he barely knew, but let it slide considering the man knew nothing of the strained relationship he had with her. "I was under the impression that you would take care of her"

The guilt that passed through the man's eyes was a giveaway that something happened that shouldn't have. If he didn't reign in his control now, he would snap the last cigarette he had left on him, and the way the girl's fiance was looking at him now let him know that there would be no way in hell he would let him borrow one of his. Did he even smoke? He didn't seem like the smoking type.

"Well, let me tell you that a man came to get her, and the staff and I were powerless to stop him"

A dark eyebrow rose on Jin's face as he crossed his arms, "Was it her father?"

The doctor snorted, "You think? No. This place would be flooded with the media had that been the case, and besides that, everyone knows what the guy looks like. This guy was older and possibly more poised, reminded me of a butler"

The description matched the picture in Jin's head and soon he could register a name with the face. _He must be talking about Sebastian..._ It wasn't often that the two had reoccurring encounters, but whenever the elder man was in the room there was just something about that small smile that always put Jin off. There was just something about it that just seemed dark and foreboding. Lili didn't seem to mind him though, and he figured at the time that he may have just been putting too much thought into it as usual, but then again, before he knew how much of a monster her father really was behind closed doors he just thought he was a nuisance for wanting what wasn't his own. Otherwise known as a business man wanting to monopolize the monopolizer company.

"He said that she would receive better treatment at home and that our help was no longer needed," the hand that held the cigarette away from his mouth shook slightly, "when I saw him leave with her in his arms, she visibly didn't look well, but from what I already knew medically she was fine. But I don't know if I just allowed someone to make off with a patient under my care that could die later on from the tests we weren't able to commit to, there were many things pertaining to her body that were questionable"

There it was again. That gaping sensation in his stomach that made him feel sick at the thought of the blonde no longer being alive. He would admit that the very idea made him feel more uncomfortable than the one of marrying her did, but he honestly wouldn't be so much concerned if the predicament she were in weren't so dire. Jin also wondered what tests they were trying to commence in terms of the girl and how exactly she could be fine but at the same time still in danger. Nevertheless, Jin didn't have the time to inquire the answers to his unspoken questions.

He muttered a soft thank you to the wary doctor and the man acknowledged him with the slight incline of his head, watching the brooding man walk away with his hands shoved in his pockets.

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this installment! Now on to some explanations of things that happened within this chapter that you guys may question:

1) My reference to a lot of the women (above nineteen) as _girls_ or in Lili's case, who's seventeen, as a _woman_. First let me clarify that you should not be looking at them from my point of view, but Kazuya's. Women of obvious maturity like Anna or Nina, Kazuya will refer to as women. Anyone younger than him, like in their mid to late twenties is what he literally considers to still be a teenager. The person under observation will be called girl, brat, or boy. In his eyes, Lili is now a special case. She is a young girl he happens to respect. So when he is talking about her the most he'll refer to her as is a young woman, but if she happens to annoy him, then it'll be back to brat or little girl for her.

2) My reluctance to do the math when it comes to time. Please do not bombard me with comments like _oh, that wouldn't make sense because such and such would have to be this age had it been this amount of months ago and therefore too young or old to do xy&amp;z_. I honestly don't care if it makes sense, the point is that I'm trying to make something known to you as readers, but if you happen to miss that point then it's not my problem. The fact remains that Lars has been gone for a long time and disappeared off the face of the Earth around the time that Lilian and Jun died.

3) Lars's age. This time I actually did do my homework on this guy and looked up all the info I could about him. Had no idea the guy was Swedish, but hey it was a nice surprise. His age is also unknown for some reason. Everyone has an age as far as I know, except Lars. The one time I inquire about him, he's missing very valuable information. Well, not to worry because in this story he's thirty-two. Which could make sense. Eight years ago when he was running around doing his mischief, he would twenty-four, and Kazuya would be forty-one (still an appropriate age to have his family still around), Jin would be fourteen and still old enough to remember.

4) Sebastian's Training. Yet another character that doesn't have their age listed so I made it so that he's just breaching his seventies and (slight spoiler) about to retire soon and have someone else run in his stead. He received his training as soon as he turned twenty years old, thus after fifty-one years makes him seventy-one. You'd be surprised what someone could do still while nearing the crest of their life. I made an example of that out of Sebastian.

****Fun Fact**** I glanced at some of the previous chapters from before and realized just how inappropriate and heavy some of these sexual scenes get, so I will be changing the rating to mature. That wasn't really a fun fact it was more informative than amusing...sorry ^^"

****Actual Fun Fact**** When I was glancing at previous chapters, I saw a typo near the end of a specific chapter where Nina was suppose to _shut_ off the tv, but instead it came out as _shit_. I had a good laugh when I spotted it and had half the mind to leave it there, but the professional voice in my head dismissed the idea completely, which is why it is now correct (for those who caught the typo and said nothing to me about it...you guys are hilarious).

Thank you guys once again for reading my work and taking time out of your days to leave a review each time, it's very inspiring and keeps me rolling with this baby. As always, Happy Reading Guys! ~Sasusakui


	16. Chapter 16

**Long Live the Queen**

Chapter 16

Papers were strewn across his coffee table. All of them were from work, and not even half of them were completed yet. His laptop sat open and bright as it stared at him condescendingly and further reminding him that he was a creature very much tied to his emotions. As much as he would like to say that there was no such thing as emotions when it came to him, it couldn't be helped that he was being proved wrong right now. Instead of being at work trying to accomplish the never ending feat of clearing his inbox, he was at home doing it because he couldn't get his temper under control. His nerves were going haywire and the outermost part of his vision around his left eye was a hazy, pinkish-red, which indicated to him that he was full blaze right about now. Of course his employees had absolutely no idea that their boss was only part inhabitant to his body just like how he had part ownership of Mishima Zaibatsu, he hated having _part_ of anything.

He sighed and rubbed soothing circles into the sides of his temples, trying to re-hash a mantra that would soothe the boiling demon blood within him, but his concentration came to a crashing halt due to the sound of his front door opening. His eyes snapped open as the door was closed once more, and footsteps walking towards him made thoughts go through his head over the minimum amount of people that still had access to his home. Jin rounded the corner, shoving his keys into his pocket, and glancing around the living room until they met eyes.

The younger out of the two almost flinched at the flash of red that he met with and looked elsewhere, a frown settling on his face.

"I came just to make sure what was told to me was true...about Lars" he stated solidly.

Kazuya blinked once and averted his gaze as well, "Apparently he wants to meet with me at the end of this week, for what I wouldn't know, but it seems that he won't allow me to put it off for another ten years"

Jin's clenched fists didn't go unnoticed by either of them as he glared angry holes into the tall dining room table he leaned his weight upon. "Other than you, he's one of the main reasons why our family was uprooted so abruptly back then. The fact that he's here now...he's planning something, I can feel it"

"If I could think straight I would probably have an idea what he's after as of now, but the gene is reacting too strongly" Kazuya mentioned aloud, resuming his soothing attempts like he was a few minutes ago.

Jin glanced at his hunched father and wondered briefly how his gene and his own gene differed. His wasn't so tied to him directly, but because of that it was harder for him to reign in an ounce of control when the gene felt the need to make itself present to the outside world. Luckily though, Jin's gene was dormant enough to the point where it only felt the need to make an appearance when his life was in danger of being snuffed out. However, he was a certain amount of envious at his father's control over his.

"I wouldn't know," he paused for a moment, letting the sad nostalgic feeling he got whenever he thought about anything pertaining to his mother wash over him like water, "in the past it only seemed like he was out to get us - or rather you specifically"

Kazuya blinked for a second, a confused look crossing his face as an idea presented itself in his mind, then his eyebrows narrowed as it became more clear.

"I may have a hunch, but I hope I'm not right. If I am it could mean the end for both of us with the company right along with our downfall"

* * *

Lars began to plant kisses all along the side of Lili's face and neck, making her shudder in disgust and fear. Her hands were still firmly planted against his chest in an effort to keep some amount of distance between them, but that didn't stop him from paying close attention to her weak spots. Her cheeks started to flame redder the more approached the area closest to her collar bone and her shudders of her disgust were starting to lean more towards pleasure, she would be weak for him if she didn't find a way to stop his assault.

"I'm already spoken for," she said, surprised that her voice didn't waver in the slightest, "surely even you have heard of him"

He planted his palm right above her left breast and pushed her down on the bed rather roughly, the full length of her body now under his fully clothed body. His left hand gently cupped her jaw, while the other ran up the side of her thigh, and his mouth making small bruised marks between the area of her breasts. It was then that he finally decided he should answer her question.

"Jin Kazama," he muttered into the supple skin of the young girl underneath him, "unless someone might live in a hole I wouldn't know anyone who hasn't heard of him and how the two of you are now seemingly tied together"

She opened her mouth to say something until two of his fingers were suddenly and forcefully shoved into her mouth. Her teeth automatically came down in protest to his vulgar actions and he hissed something fierce, retreating his fingers as swiftly as he put them in her mouth and glaring up at her from underneath her mounds. He towered over her and drew back his arm, giving Lili only so much time to widen her eyes at what he was about to do before the back of his hand smashed against the side of her mouth and face. She cried out as her whole head snapped to the side and blood came trickling from inside her mouth, the taste of copper and spittle running over her tongue. Tears welled up at the corner of her eyes, but she refused to cry in front of this man especially when she didn't know him.

"Now now love," he purred against her chest once more, "I only came here to finally indulge in what rightfully was entitled to me long before Jin ever had the gall to be handed something as precious as you. Now stop resisting me before I get angry with you and break you in ways that I'm sure you wouldn't find pleasant...let me do what I do best"

She whimpered as the rest of her options were taken away from her, her words stolen from her mouth as he didn't permit her to say anything more. It prompted her to cry even more as the thought of yet another man dominating himself over her exposed just how sad and vulnerable she had become.

He hovered his open mouth over her covered breast, warm breath over the sensitive area causing her to shoot her eyes towards him and meeting his gaze as he smirked up at her. She stifled a moan as he softly planted his mouth against it, swiping his tongue across it briefly before glancing at her to see what reaction what be there awaiting him. Her eyes had avoided him long after they made contact with his own, but her bottom lip being trapped within the confines of her teeth said it all. She couldn't help the way he made her body feel could she? Hate him all she want, he would make her toes curl, and her body quake in pleasure underneath him, and she would love him for what he was doing to her if only for a short time, and resume to hating him after it was over and he was spent.

Over the course of him being in her room for over two hours, he wasn't interrupted once. No one thought it odd that the young lady of the house was missing over that time span, and all of the maids were warned ahead of time that should they be interrupted it would mean something horrible in their near future. Once Lars was completely emptied, he laid exhausted on her sheets with his bottom half covered modestly with her fluffy blankets as well as her body lying on top of him. Her legs were spread on either side of him and her face was cradled in the nook of his neck where her breath came out slowly and calmly. His hand laid lazily above her waist and her naked breast were pressed against his chest, her nightgown torn and discarded on the cold floor.

"I don't even know your name, and yet you still..." her breathing hitched momentarily and she could go no further.

The disgust was clear in her voice, and the pain underlying that was even more apparent. But she had to realize that this did not faze the monster underneath her who gazed at her in slight wonder, rather he devoured her sadness whole and felt full. He turned her face towards him and kissed her fully, tasting the saltiness of her tears and growing hard all over again. His tongue gained entrance into her mouth quickly and expertly, sucking her power away from her once more and leaving him in control all over again.

* * *

Quiet.

The inside of this once lively home was quiet once again because a key person was missing from it, leaving a gentle soul to mourn at the family table by herself. Her dark hair fell beautifully past her shoulders, stopping above her breast, and her equally dark eyes were shedding their tears unabashedly. She was up way past the acceptable time for her to still hope for someone to come back home, but every night she still waited and ended up with the same results. Her eyes were rimmed with red as her elbows sat firmly planted on the table and she sniffled furiously to no end.

Fifteen year old Jin hated seeing his mother this way, and was old enough to know the root of the problem was his father's love of work although the older Jin knew what it really was occupying his father's attention late at night. But back then he was still sure everything was his father's fault and it was, he just wasn't sure of what made it his father's fault in the first place.

It was on this night where young Jin would usually assume his reoccurring routine, check on his mother, ache that she was sad, approach her and tell her she should sleep only for her to tell him she was sorry she woke him, and he would venture back to his room. He was going to step away from his threshold until a knock made him halt in his place, gluing him to the spot. He could see his mother's head bob up at the sound, and they both knew it wasn't who they thought it would be this early in the morning.

Jun stood from her seat, the chair that once occupied her body scraping a little bit along the floor, and she headed towards the door while she wiped at her eyes. She paused slightly at the door, looking through the hole provided to see who the visitor was only to make a small noise of surprise. She opened the door quickly and quite wide, enough for Jin to see who it was standing there. His arms were crossed as he leaned his back on the wall across from the door and his deep blue eyes could be seen through the stylish framed glasses he wore, and to top it all off, his kind of wild dirty blonde hair. Jin hadn't known who Lars was back then, but his mother did and however she knew him she would never live to tell.

The two exchanged words before Jun thought it necessary to walk out of the house and close the door behind her, until she gave the small house a small once over before leaving, and meeting gazes with her son watching her from the doorway of his room. She couldn't hold his bewilderment for long, and could only offer a sad and guilt-ridden gaze in return.

* * *

It had been a couple of years since Jin had that specific dream appear in his sub-conscious. His waking mind always made a point to stray away from images of his mother or memories of their time together when he was younger, but a few years back he couldn't seem to escape her in his dreams and he would wake up with tears pricking the corner of his eyes. Inside of him his anger would continue to coil up like a snake, and lash out at the nearest person until he got a handle on it later on in life. He wasn't exactly known for being a particularly nice person in the first place, and that was why. Jin figured the return of this dream only further confirmed that for whatever purpose Lars has resurfaced for must be nipped in the bud quickly before something just as irreplaceable as his family was was completely destroyed, and this time it would have nothing to do with his father. The company was the next best thing on the list to be crushed to dust.

Jin had decided that day to spend the night in the guest wing of the Mishima Estate, hoping the aura of another blood relative would relatively soothe Kazuya's devil gene enough to let his more logical side have enough breathing room to think. They spent that whole day throwing out ideas of what Lars may want or be planning and could both come to terms over the fact that he was the biggest enemy they had to worry about as of late, Edward would have to be put on the back burner for now. During their short meeting of sorts together, Jin couldn't help but keep averting his gaze from Kazuya's left eye, and that specific eye brought him back to the dark days of his childhood, instinctively making him uncomfortable around the man while he was that way.

The plush mattress and sheets he laid on top of no longer comforted him and Jin found himself sitting up to wipe a heavy hand over his stinging eyes. If he flared out his aura enough, not so overbearing that his father may suspect him, but softly then he could feel him on the left half of the house still asleep. From what he could tell, his breathing was calmer than yesterday so he was more than likely in a better place in terms of the balance between the devil and his human self.

The soft material of a plush black robe draped along Jin's broad shoulders as he slid his arms into the sleeves, and tied it so that it showed most of his chest and he wouldn't be left uncomfortable in the entrapping warmth it gave off. His quiet footsteps led him to the bathroom where he freshened up and scrubbed his face into alertness. After he was done with that, his more alerting footsteps carried him down the long main hall of the house to the core that connected it all, the living room and kitchen. A soft rumbling in his stomach was a key sign that food was in order and he headed straight to the fridge to see what kind of delicacies Kazuya had in stock for himself. Despite what many may think, the man was a fantastic cook, and preferred to cook for himself and his family only. There was no such thing as a private chef in his case because he _is_ the chef, just the idea of having one was something he always said no to even when his mother once inquired. Jin could remember faintly that his father had a slight tongue for spicy foods and never liked to eat a dish without it having some type of spice to it, on the other hand it had to be the right amount or he wouldn't eat it.

Just like he thought, Jin observed the side of the fridge that was filled to the brim with a complex and variety bunch of peppers and spices that would make any normal person question the man's taste buds. Inside the fridge was where all the normal food and beverages were placed. White bread, wheat bread, rye bread, pork, beef, cheese of all kinds, different kinds of milk, butter, jelly, mayonnaise, etc. honestly Jin couldn't figure out how the fridge itself could hold it all. After settling on a simple sandwich, he went to close the door of the fridge only to be knocked on his back painfully, food ingredients flying everywhere, and a heavy stinging sensation along his jaw that made him see stars for a moment. Coming out of his stupor, now more alert eyes than ever searched for his assailant only to find his father standing in front of him, his red eye more menacing than the last he saw it. Jin sat up from his place on the floor, still a bit woozy from the hit (punch? kick? suplex?), and narrowed his eyes at Kazuya.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he seethed.

The elder man responded by descending upon Jin with a speed only his devil gene could muster. His body and added strength literally whooshed all the air out of Jin's lungs and heaved awkwardly while struggling to remove himself from under Kazuya's body. His hand shot out and wrapped around his throat like a python, instinctively making Jin attempt to claw his way out of Kazuya's grip. He coughed harshly and gagged, tears sprang to his eyes and he could feel his muscles start to feel like liquid, almost weightless.

"You have eyes like your mother," Kazuya said in a hollowed voice, "I'm sure if I destroy you, then he'll have no choice but to give in to me"

Red was outlining the base of Jin's vision and he could feel a dark surge coming up his chest and leaving out through his forehead, burning a hole through his skull and through the muscle and flesh surrounding it and making contact with his father's chest, causing the grown man to shoot off of Jin's person like a beam and land a good five feet away on the other side of the living room into various pieces of furniture. Now that oxygen was being allowed back into his lungs, Jin gasped in the amount he needed through painful heaves and coughed harshly into his fists as he flipped himself over to stand. He didn't understand how he couldn't feel Devil's dark aura from such a close proximity, not to mention when he not too long ago felt that Kazuya was in his bed asleep. It was then that an unknown feeling of fear crept over his shoulders at the very real reality of him dying could've passed should a more lethal attack surprised him instead of one that simply knocked him on his ass (and turned him into a coughing fit).

When most of his breath was regained, Jin quickly took action and jumped to his feet, making sure that he was well alert this time in case Devil wanted to attack him again while his guard was down. Onyx eyes examined his father's still body laying in his place on the other side of the room and he couldn't help the foreboding feeling at the thought that there was no way that was the end of Devil's attempt at total and complete control of Kazuya's mind and body. Just as he thought, a slight movement from Kazuya's naked back as he lay face down caught Jin's attention as he watched his father's once slightly tanned skin start to discolor and become a bruised shade of purple. His eyes widened in surprise as dark, bat-like wings sprouted suddenly and he began to lift himself from the debris of furniture surrounding him.

* * *

A/N: Hello faithful reader! I probably shouldn't start this off in this method considering most likely half of you or maybe all of you will be angry at this point. In my defense, which is not a good one if I can say, I'm anxious as heck to get to a certain part in this story and it's going to take more than a couple of chapters to get there. I want the transition from point A to point B to be smooth and nicely flowed without being rushed, it's just the excitement of it all that's making me really over zealous and I can't afford that right now in this kind of story line. Please forgive the shortness of this chapter, and perhaps expect a short time skip some time next chapter or the chapter after that one.

Fun Fact: Pure lazyness, and on the account of my bum hurting from sitting in this same position for so long, prevented me from looking over this for any common mistakes. Of course you may think since that I'm admitting that fact here then surely I can take the time to scroll back up and... no! my butt hurts, I'm tired and I really want you guys to have this chapter before the waiting period seriously becomes too long. Guess that wasn't so much of a fun fact was it?

The Real Fun Fact: As a player of Tekken 5 and 6, I always fight with Lili, Christie, Kazuya, and Lee. I also have a huge fascination with Kazuya and find him extremely attractive in comparison to Jin who is also quite attractive. The man is just such a dilf xD


	17. Chapter 17

**Prince of the Lands**

Chapter 17

_What the hell?_

To start shifting into his demon form right then and there, not to mention in such close proximity to various objects around them, was complete madness to Jin. His very aura could threaten the very foundation of the Mishima estate and even he knew that the place itself had a special reserved spot inside of his father. It was obvious Kazuya wasn't in his right state of mind and more than likely was very much still asleep, which was one of the many cons to inhabiting a demon within them. Most of the time Jin never had to worry about his gene pulling the same stunts because the frequent tossing and turning in his slumber gave his Devil the impression that he was still awake. Unlike Kazuya's, that actually seemed to have a complete train of thought, his own gene was just a swirling mass of anger and despair that wished to be satisfied in the most primal and minimalist way possible, which didn't lead to very much thought process. While Devil was conniving and crafty, Jin's strain of Devil was powerful and reckless with no sense of friend or foe. Everyone in his eyes was a foe or adversary.

He had to think fast, that surprise shot of his laser was something Devil wasn't expecting and if the slow movements he was making in attempt to get up from the ground was any sign enough, he packed quite a punch. But he may not have the same opportunity again. Jin's eyes searched the span of the kitchen, his thoughts going a mile a minute as his line of sight sat lingering on multiple arrays of kitchen drawers. His father was always prepared for quick time events should things ever went wrong, and sometimes he episodes where his human body couldn't handle the gene's mass anymore which caused it to react as if it was going through a cardiac arrest. It looked and sounded painful when Kazuya explained it, and the only way he's able to suppress such reactions (reactions that could very well be fatal should he not attend to them quickly) is via injections into any part of his body. Jin wasn't sure if the liquid could be used to suppress Devil, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to try when he didn't know what the outcome would be.

His only option could very well involve killing Kazuya, and that was something he would like to avoid despite having a healthy dislike of the man. Their added teamwork made Mishima Zaibatsu a powerhouse, Jin didn't have to worry about too many people coming after him thanks to his father having a trigger happy personality, and whenever it was time to come together to figure out a solution to a big problem it was usually Kazuya that assured him he would take care of it and some days later the problem would be non-existent. He was also part of the deal involving Jin's engagement.

Bottom line: if Kazuya died, then that would be the end of Mishima Zaibatsu, and the wedding would be off.

* * *

"You and my father are despicable," Lili said spitefully, "I would've never thought this stupid engagement would be a blessing in disguise"

Sebastian had heard it all before, and all he could think of as he was busy wiping down the family dining table was his impending retirement. "If you think you'll ever be able to escape that man's hold on you then you're even more naive than I thought"

The blonde bristled defiantly, she still wasn't quite use to this new change in Sebastian and she also wanted to know what prompted him to show his true colors in the first place. It seemed as if everyone around her were nothing more than liars and wolves in sheep's clothing, the only lamb around seemed to be her. She sighed and let her wet, blonde locks settled around her shoulders, glad to be comforted by the softness of her white fluffy robe that revealed nothing to anyone. Even underneath that she wore a light grey sweatshirt and matching capri sweats that went no higher than her knees. Normally she'd be sweltering underneath all the cloth, but thanks to Japan's rainy weather it left an almost cold draft over the area.

Just the thought of her staying her room like she usually did when her father was home disgusted her enough to exile herself from the whole upstairs area. It would probably be the cleanest it would ever be in the whole week much to the female maids' delight. Soon after that guy left her room promptly after laying with her, he told her he would return later on during the week to take her somewhere to meet with people, also letting her know that he had permission from her father already that he could take her. He probably meant for those words to be comforting, but they were about as comfy as someone prolonging the signal to give for the guillotine to finally fall. Not only did he presume to comfort her (which failed little to his knowledge), but he also underhandedly threatened her (to which she believed to be underhanded-or maybe it wasn't intended to be, who knew).

"A little word of advice, dear wife. As much as you may want to seek comfort in the jaws of a beast, that same beast will only find his penance by devouring you, and when you have no one else you will eventually realize that I will be there waiting"

Lili guessed he had means to corner her, but little did he know, she had the respect and cooperation of not one but both of the strongest men of the country and once she finally calms down she'll perhaps consult with Kazuya on means of what she should do. It wasn't a solid plan on purging the unknown man from her life completely, but it would do for now and unfortunately for her father and his hand-picked husband for her that he decided for her possibly at the last minute they were running out of time. Unlike his fabricated disillusioned vision of their marriage, her's was actually in writing and completely final. Unless he had a master plan up his sleeve or found some magic hole somewhere in those documents (which she was sure didn't exist) then there was nothing he could do about the man she was already spoken for. If that was the case then why did he seem so over-zealous in his actions, so over-confident and sure that she belonged to him? As if there was no question about it. That part worried the blonde, but soon enough she knew sooner or later she would be free. She also knew that freedom came with a price.

A porcelain mug was set in front of Lili, startling her out of her meek thoughts, and making her watch as Sebastian stirred milk into her steaming beverage. Her eyebrows rose at him and he ignored her, returning to his tedious task of wiping down the long dinner table. It was then that she was exposed to the more intelligent and pensive side of Sebastian and all over again he surprised her.

"That man who came here, his name is Lars Alexerandersson..."

Lili had to cut in, "Wonderful" she snorted.

He cut his eyes at her momentarily for interrupting him, even going so far as to stop the circling motion of his hand on the already polished. She pursed her lips politely and kept her gaze stuck on the swirling, dark brown mass of cocoa in the mug. Once he was satisfied with her silence he continued,

"Your father's intentions with him go much deeper than him wanting to marry you, that's just in his spiteful manner if you have not guessed that already, but besides that I suspect that that young man may know more than what he's letting on"

The silence he left out in the open was Lili's chance to ask her questions and make her comments, she took this opportunity in full swing.

"Who is he?," she asked first, "and how does my father know him?" she asked next.

Sebastian cracked an eye at her again, but there was a whole other meaning behind his gaze...one she couldn't figure out right away, "There are things that even I can't tell you, and your father's dealings are one of them, but as far as who he is I wouldn't know"

The blonde sighed, so much for getting information out of him. She slouched in her chair enough to draw her knees up to her chest and peered at the mug in front of her once again, pondering on taking her first sip before Sebastian spoke again.

"Despite his unknown identity, I would rather someone as dense as that Jin-kid to meddle with the likes of you rather than someone who seems to be searching for something. I may have an idea as to what that something is, but I could be wrong"

* * *

The option to leave Kazuya as he was and get as far away from him as possible was almost as bad as killing him, and Jin couldn't have made that decision with a clear conscious. He knew Devil wouldn't be so stupid as to expose himself, but there was also the thought that he could go after other people in attempt to gain control of his father's conscious mind. He didn't wish to, but had no other choice than to beat his father into unconsciousness and let the rest of the battle rage on inside of his mind. Jin just hoped that his father's will was strong enough to overcome the will of the Devil.

Talons reached for him, and Jin quickly sidestepped out of the way and completely missing the swipe of his tail zipping after him. It wrapped around his ankle, making him lose his balance and fall to the floor harshly. His tongue split a little from the pressure of his teeth crashing down on top of it and a coppery taste spread inside of his mouth.

"Just hold still," Devil hissed, "the more you resist me the more energy I have to release to kill you"

Jin could feel it. The very foundation of the place beginning to yield to the extreme aura that Devil was releasing. Any more could do irreparable damage and send the ceiling and roof crashing down on top of them. He had to stop him here and now before things got any more out of hand than they already were. Quickly kicking his tail until it eventually unraveled, Jin rolled away from the hissing and spitting demon until he was back on his feet again with more distance sitting between the two of them. He could see the rage swirling around in the demon's red eyes, no doubt over the fact that even though the kid hadn't even called his gene to help him he was still able to escape from his grasp. _He was just a human! _

Foam dripped from his jaws as he saw nothing but red in his vision, and he immediately went straight for Jin's throat, completely missing the slight glint in his right hand as he drew closer to the boy. He flapped his wings to give him the speed he needed to decapitate him completely and flattened his hand so that his claws would pierce his flesh with no trouble, until a sharp prick in his throat had him standing into a halt. The cool liquid was familiar to him as it spread rapidly through his veins, and Devil knew exactly what it was. This was the same method his host used to stop him in his tracks from killing him and it was thanks to those doctors and scientists that such a product was even possible.

Jin watched the red in Devil's eyes begin to flicker and eventually go out, his power was leaving him in a pace he couldn't keep up with and it was noticeable through his slightly trembling body. Wings flapped rapidly about as if they knew they were going to be drawn back in and they eventually were, talons disappeared as well as if everything that just occurred was only a bad dream, the tail literally disintegrated out of view, and purple-colored skin began to recede and reveal the tanned flesh underneath.

Onyx colored eyes now blinked and dark eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, how did he end up downstairs? Jin watched warily as Kazuya stood stock still in front of him and glanced about the room highly confused, that was, until he saw the destruction half of his living room had sustained thanks to Devil. He walked over to the dining room table that was now blown to smithereens in nothing but his light pants and visibly tensed.

"What. the. hell?!" Kazuya seethed, "this table costed more than an arm and a leg!"

Yup, Devil was clear from his system at the moment and Jin could finally let out a sigh of relief and drop the now empty syringe on the floor next to his feet. He was sure at one point in time that what he did would have no affect on Devil because he was released already and that it would only negatively affect Kazuya himself, but it was gamble he had to take and he was lucky there _was_ one in one of the kitchen drawers. A lot of things could've happened should he have not taken the chance to see what sort of result would come out of injecting Kazuya's body with that serum, the man could've overdosed or something along those lines, or it probably wouldn't have had any sort of reaction with Devil at all and give him the opening he needed and Jin would be dead for sure. His gene wouldn't have had the time to save him.

If anything, Kazuya shouting about the damage his furniture suffered was more comforting than anything else to Jin, but he was sure he would soon grow tired of it later. Now that his body was starting to relax out of the strain it went through, the next thing in order was it to finally collapse to the floor. Hearing the loud thump from behind him, Kazuya turned to find his son face first on the floor in the middle of the kitchen. What the hell was going on here?! He walked towards him and knelt down beside his head, listening closely to make sure Jin was at least breathing.

* * *

Lili cupped the mug in her hands, feeling more relaxed as the heat from the beverage melted into her cold fingers. She drew it up to her lips and finally tasted the most well brewed hot chocolate she's ever had the pleasure of consuming and she exposed her delight with a light sound from her throat and the raise of her eyebrows. It went warm and hot down her throat, spreading its heat throughout her system and warming her all the way down to her toes. She may have a deeply rooted dislike for Sebastian and neither would she trust him for anything, but the man knew how to make the best beverages.

Sebastian smiled at the fond memory that crept up on him as he envisioned Lilian sitting where Lili was and wrapped up in one of her many blankets, drinking either the tea, coffee, or hot chocolate he brewed for her. He always made sure it was the very best and that nothing was ever bitter tasting to her tongue. She would close her eyes as she drank, smile softly and savor the taste, and open her silver eyes at him and compliment him on the wonderful beverage. Thinking about her now made him almost wish his retirement would come sooner, and his replacement would relinquish his duties.

Once she was finished with her beverage, he took the now empty mug away from her and sat it on a tall, silver tray behind him filled with other dirty dishes, planning to call one of the maids to retrieve it and have it cleaned-until Edward made his appearance. The butler had no idea what the man had been doing this whole time and frankly didn't care, if anything, he planned to make himself scarce from his presence if he didn't have any ineffective tasks for him to do.

"Sebastian" he acknowledged with the slight incline of his head.

The side of the butler's mouth twitched, "Master"

Sometimes it seemed as though the man wanted to hear the title that has been given to him over the years over and over again out of sheer amusement, or perhaps to settle his own ego, whatever the reason, it was grating on the elder man's nerves. Out of his peripheral vision, he could see the little miss blanch at the sight of her father. He did not pity her, however, for her he felt disgusted. To think a man would think that way about his offspring offered a bad taste to his tongue.

* * *

A/N:

Short, I know. Plus, I have no excuse u.u I'm sorry if this chapter in particular just sucks all the way around. Oh and I'm just wondering what the hell happened to all the links I had up on my profile. When I go to edit what it says on my page, the links are there, but when I save it and look at it officially it's not there. What's up with that? If you guys know anything, please feel free to enlighten me ^^"


	18. Chapter 18 -explanation-

Things in my life are presenting themselves in an uncannily manner, and many of those things (if bad luck breathes it's nasty breath in my direction) would have the ability to stop all of my activity on this website completely and it would be an absolute miracle should I update anything. However, if things go me and my family's way, it'll only be a week or shorter before I update this storyline again. I usually like to update on a computer, I don't know why, but I just like the idea of having a large blank canvas in front of me. Usually on a computer my passages come out longer and there are less mistakes (true story!). The first six or maybe seven chapters of this Lili x Jin x Kazuya were made on my iPad and then the rest were conceived on a laptop that ended up catching a nasty virus, but it was pretty buggy anyway.

The point is. I get less writer's block, more ideas, and faster updates through a desktop and the only one my family had left was stolen by someone I went to school with. and I have no idea why that is but as soon as I get another computer, which will be soon, this story line may hit its thirtieth chapter very soon once I get one. I can't wait to see what I come up with. I also thought it would be unfair to string you guys along without explaining myself first and I will update on my page any updates about the status of this story.

P.S - I may frequently update other story lines and not this one for the time being, but don't think I'm playing favorites as that is not the case. This plot requires a lot of thinking and pre-planning of me so that what I put down makes sense when I do it and that it looks and sounds the way I have it in my mind. I never want a chapter to come out and have it be complete shit because the quality isn't what it's suppose to be, so you must ask yourself this: do you want it to come out faster with lower quality and less thinking behind it? Or can you endure the wait and be happy once the chapter comes out and your satisfied with what's written?

~Sasusakui


	19. Chapter 18

**Wedding Chills and the River Styx**

Chapter 18

Two weeks had passed since the showdown against Devil, and Jin could honestly say that his body had recovered completely since then. He had buried himself in work soon after he looked at the calendar that morning and realized that mid-June was right around the corner, and also observed that actually it was less than five days away. Just the thought of it made him think to all the stress it would cause in reference to preparations (because compared to other men, Jin, like his father, was very particular about certain things), the annoying press that seemed to be overly infatuated on his relationship with Lili (or in actuality their non-existent one), his attire for such an occasion, and lastly, probably the most nerve-wracking, the kiss he would share with her at the end.

He wasn't completely opposed to it, after all she's a very pretty girl and her aesthetic appeal made looking at her somewhat of a pleasure, but that didn't change the fact that she's damaged and that he still didn't quite know her too well (and after finding out just how damaged her life is he wasn't sure if he really wanted to). The way she looked really had anything to do with it considering her attitude around him and towards him made it easy for him to overlook that part about her, but the unfamiliarity was something that truly didn't sit well with him. They're strangers to each other. They know some things about each other but nothing else besides what was told to them or what they've read personally, and if Jin was really being honest with himself he would much rather go into something serious with someone who wasn't as broken as he was.

It would be a complete loveless marriage he knew that for sure, but at the end of the day they would still have to go home to each other every night to keep up appearances, not to mention every now and then they would have to go out together. Jin wasn't up for that. But he would have to be. The only thing they owed each other as of now was discretion, modesty in the public eye, and a healthy amount of respect. Other than that, their marriage was completely political and more than likely the two would be secretely seeing other people if they chose to do so.

Speaking of seeing other people, Hwoarang died not too long ago—not so much as died but rather he was killed. Jin was still without a doubt completely sure that Lili's possessive father had a helping hand in that, but it was nothing he would do himself. The most likely person to commit the deed had to be Sebastian. He would put nothing past the man just because of his age considering his great grandfather was surely the same age if not older than the butler and still regularly fought opponents that challenged him. Did she know? It'd been awhile now and the blonde didn't seem like the type to sit down and watch the daily news, something like that never being able to keep her attention for long. And if she did ever find out, how would she react? Did she even love him?

Jin shook his head out of his thoughts and finally registered the fact that he was currently in the main gym of the Mishima Zaibatsu building. He was working on his shoulders, biceps, and triceps and satisfied with the results that were coming in rather quickly once he got his body back into its routine. He'd be damned if he was caught off guard like he was when facing off Devil in the Mishima estate, that was the longest it'd taken him to heal after a fight without the help of his gene and that in itself more or less pissed him off and hurt a bit of his pride.

With that angering memory now stuck in his mind, he gritted his teeth and lifted himself off the ground using a metal bar stuck in the door frame of the gym. Sweat trickled down his back and sides as the familiar burning sensation returned full force the more he pushed his body to perform better. He would not leave this gym until he was exhausted, and so far he was in the middle of his work out. Later on he would spar with Eddy, tomorrow with Nina, and the day after that his body guard Miguel. Those three had very distinct and very different fighting styles and it was good for an all around fighter like him to experience them.

Eddy's awkward stance and leg movement made sparring against him a chore, and at times Jin would find himself getting frustrated trying to figure out how to defend against such fluid movement but the man's downfall came in missing an attack or being rebuffed from one. The punishment for that was steep. Nina was even worse considering she's faster and more efficient with her jabs and kicks. She doesn't let up when Jin is on the defensive, but all he has to do is wait her out without getting hurt too bad and he'll beat her out of stamina. Miguel was probably the easiest out of the three, but Jin knew better than to underestimate the man. He had the strength of a freakin gorilla, and knew it too. One punch or kick from him in the right place would usually have the Kazama clutching whatever appendage was hit in pain for days on end.

Jin was in the midst of his fifty-eighth pull up before the door leading into the gym opened to reveal Nina in her business attire. He made eye contact with her, sighed, and dropped from the bar and landed on his feet. She didn't say anything for awhile as she stood there with a tablet in her arms just staring up at him, cold eyes assessing his facial features. He almost felt uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze and wanted to ask her what she wanted before she beat him to the punch.

"I just talked with your long lost uncle..." She said before sitting down on a bench in the far corner of the room.

He was honestly too worked up from his exercise to be angry, however, his dislike and anger for the man was written all over his heavily drawn eyebrows and frowning face.

"What did he want?" He asked her.

Nina's eyes followed her employer as he walked over to a rack of weights and pick two up before straddling a chair and lifting the weight continuously in one hand. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. She tilted her head a little to the side and seemed to realize for the first time just how physically fit his arms, chest, and stomach was...

"Nina."

Right, right. She snapped herself out of her stupor so fast she couldn't even remember why she was distracted in the first place, "He wants to meet with you"

Jin paused mid lift, a scowl settling permanently on his face for the day, "What could he possibly want with me? He's had his talk with Kazuya already, which I'm sure was a stupid attempt at goading him into anger, but there's no reason for the two of us to speak whatsoever"

"Well he seems to think differently" Nina said, "he was pressing to see you now, but I got him to put it off for another day. Which ever you decide, but he kept saying it was important and that he shouldn't be kept waiting for long"

Jin could do nothing but roll his eyes in annoyance, what a pest. "Is that all you've come to say?"

She nodded and stood abruptly, "Let me know when you've set up a date for him", she reminded him as she took her tablet with her before walking through the same door she used to come in. Jin watched her go before releasing a breath he hadn't even known he was holding until then. He resumed his workout with the handheld weights and started to get lost in his thoughts all over again. Seeing Lars's face again, just the thought of that made Jin bristle over. Every single unwanted memory from his past would come tumbling forth the moment that man opened his mouth.

* * *

"There is something I have to tell you" Edward announced as they sat on opposite ends of the table.

Lili figured whatever he had to tell her was something that would upset her and she had no choice but to listen. Her father never included her on anything that was of importance to her, the slightest bit encouraging, or anything that was just purely conversational. Things like that would never reach her ears. Besides now, the two never spoke to each other unless it had something to do with her, Jin, or Kazuya. Then the only other time her father meant to seek her out was for other...obvious reasons. With these things in mind, the blonde stayed silent and submissive, waiting for Edward to deliver a verbal blow to her she felt she didn't deserve.

Edward milked the anxiety in the air by waiting a couple of minutes before opening his mouth. There was so much of it he could almost taste it on his tongue. The look on her face fed so much of his ego that it almost exploded with pride. To think he could have so much power over her, how he could break and twist her emotionally, mentally, and physically (because thank goodness she was flexible). He relished the fact that she did a complete one-eighty of her former head strong self when she was much younger, and he was the root cause that made all of that change. He forbid she grew up to further remind him of her mother right down to the way she acted.

Figuring she's waited long enough for him to speak, Edward opened his mouth before making eye contact with her for the first time since he sat down and noticed the striking color her eyes were. They were obviously different from what he saw before her accident and he didn't know how he managed not to notice the drastic change until now. The more he stared at them the more he became fixated and pulled in, almost enamored with the perfect mix between her mother's eyes and his own, one being completely silver and the other being completely blue. He wondered why something like that even happened but figured it must be an after effect from the trauma her body went through and mentally made a note to contact her doctor when he got the chance.

The more he stared however, the more something in him began to hate what he was seeing. A once honest fascination and awing emotion growing into hate the more he realized just how much other men may want her because of such an off putting yet beautiful eye condition. Seeing it for himself made his possessive nature progress almost three times as much.

"From now on when your in this house, in my presence, or in the presence of other people. You will wear contacts, I'll order them for you as soon as possible" he stated firmly.

A familiar sinking feeling started in the pit of her stomach at his words, she had no idea why but the feeling itself made her uncomfortable. Nevertheless she nodded her head in agreement with him because without it would surely mean the back of his hand.

Now that he had gotten that over with, he remembered what he had to tell her, "It seems your fiancé has been quite busy lately..." He told her, looking her straight in the eyes as he did so.

Lili seemed to visibly relax as she considered that this piece of information wasn't anything worth while, "As I am most of the time. He is a businessman, father"

"Precisely why I need you to tell me anything sketchy that occurs with the two Mishima men should anything arise, after I order your contacts I'll let you free to do the things that you need to do, like with your modeling and clothing lines, and along the way you may run into those two "

Her eyes shot up to him and her eyebrows furrowed together in question and minor disgust, "Why would I do that? You made a deal with them and now you want me to spy?!" Her voice rose slightly.

What an interesting rise he got out of her. Just like her whore of a mother, she seemed to be somewhat interested in the Mishima family and even seemed to want to defend them although she had little to no knowledge of what they do behind closed doors and dark alleys. He was testing what sort of reaction he would get out of her should he paint them in a doubtful light, he planted the seed, and now all he would have to do is water it.

There was always a punishment waiting for her when it came to Edward and this time around he would teach her a valuable lesson when it came to relying on someone else that wasn't him. It would only be him she would go crying to. He would be her savior and dictator. She lived for him and breathed for him and eventually she'll even die for him. His word was her law and testaments. Her arms and legs would only open for him, and her pretty eyes would only shine and dull for him. Even if she refused to do half of those things, even if she was incapable of such actions, and even if she got away with doing most of those actions for someone else, he would still sweep that other party away with the flick of his hand and the only person she would be able to turn to would be him. Or she would be completely alone. And he knew that was something she feared more than she did him.

What he would say to her now would tether her soul to him for just a bit longer.

"Usually I would punish you for questioning me, but I'll try another method with you. I'll make you see the truth for what it is and then you'll realize you have no grounds for questioning what I know any longer"

She scoffed and threw up her hands, full on irritated from the idiotic nonsense coming from her father's mouth, "So far they haven't done anything to me, and from my knowledge nothing to you other than the fact that Kazuya tried to steal your company but that was _years_ ago"

Edward's nostrils flared in anger and he had to bang his fist onto the table to keep that same one from bruising up her pretty little face, not that he really had to worry about that considering she always healed up pretty good afterwards. But if he really wanted what he was going to reveal to her to affect her at its greatest then he would have to refrain from beating it into her. Whatever he had to say would go in and out one ear and leave nothing behind except numbness, and that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to twist the knife, and he wanted her to bleed.

His previous action earlier had frightened her, causing her to jump like a shaky fawn and stare at him with wide cautious eyes. This is what he liked the most about her—his daughter—when he had her upmost attention, nothing could distract her and no thoughts that ran across her mind could push him out of the forefront. As of this moment, her world only existed with him in it and nothing else mattered. Edward only wished that she would stay this way forever.

"You really believe they have your best interest in mind just because I struck a deal with them that just happens to involve you?" It was Edward's turn to scoff, "as soon as you reach a certain age they're free to do whatever they want with you and you would only think that _I_ broke you...but just imagine what the pair of those devils would do to you now that you're no longer under my protection?" He waited for a response from her but continued when she had none, "I may hurt you, break you, and touch you but I would never let anyone take from me what is mine, nor hurt what is mine. If you had listened to me instead of running after that insolent boy then something that traumatic would've never happened to you. Do you know how furious I was when I saw your blood littering the pavement?"

Lili gulped silently, a shaky and unsteady feeling building inside of her as she noticed once again the darkest of the dark side of her father that said that he loved her. Loved her so much that he would only be satisfied when she left him because he killed her. This was much more terrifying than any of the times where he would sneak into her room in the middle of the night and—

"I thought, if this person weren't already dead then I would make them wish they were through means of endless torture but it still to this day it makes me upset that sweet, merciful death snatched my prey away from my clutches and now only the rest of his family would have to suffer in his stead"

A single tear dropped from one of Lili's eyes but she didn't feel it until it dropped onto her clenched hand. She was shaking no doubt because it was obvious that she was sitting at her dinner table with Lucifer himself as he spurt out all his sick little fantasies he had in store for the family of the man that hit her with his car. Her heart trembled as she continued a mantra in her head that told her it wasn't her fault that he became this way, or that because of his twisted love for her that he would do something so pervertedly horrible to innocent people and get away with it. It was then that she chose sides rather quickly seeing as she would have to. It was either her father's lust for her life, or the unknown dangers that came with associating with the Mishima family tree.

She didn't know Jin or Kazuya enough to think against what her father had previously said about them. But she could only rely on what they've done up until now, and so far they haven't harmed her. Lili would never say that she trusted them, but she would take their side over her father's at any point in time.

Speaking of trust..._she didn't know where Hwoarang was_. Her memory of that night was impeccable right down to even what she was wearing and what time it was the night the accident happened. But it even struck her as odd that she hadn't thought about her lover for quite some time until now. Why hadn't he tried to contact her at all? He usually got impatient once two weeks had gone by, and the only people that were blowing up her phone currently were all of the modeling agencies she signed with.

Edward could see gears turning in Lili's head. She was probably thinking of that boy again, her little midday and midnight escapade into oblivion. He had her right where he wanted, right on the teeter edge of putting two and two together before she started looking at him with suspicious eyes.

"Your little fling seems to have angered your soon to be husband enough to draw blood"

* * *

Anyone could tell he was troubled. There was only one meeting the executives hosted to have that afternoon, and all questions directed towards Kazuya was answered short handedly and without much thought put behind it and the people in his corner could tell. Whenever Jin started up a new topic about something, he would hardly give his opinion on what was said and opted to just stare into space. Finally when the meeting ended, and people gathered their briefcases and notebooks, Jin and Kazuya were the last two people to leave.

Jin sighed after awhile of silence passing between them and saw how Kazuya was just staring off into space, his eyes seeming to watch something that wasn't there. He was bothered definitely, by what no one would know unless he said something.

"It's not like you to be this way during a meeting..._ever_. Where's your head at?" He asked the brooding man casually, "and I also haven't seen Anna around lately, where is she?"

The same blank expression was still on Kazuya's face, "She left to get more of my injections for the gene. You used the last one in my house"

"Then what about my other question?"

Kazuya bit the inside of his mouth as he pondered over how he should word his next sentence, all he could think about was the rage Jin was going to feel. He put them both in a position he couldn't get out of and his hands were literally tied behind his back. At the rate they were going, it was a very real possibility that the two of them could lose everything. He had never been so stressed.

"Kazuya." Jin pressed.

He wished he could keep his mouth shut forever and just pretend that Lars didn't say the things he said, that that one night of fun and terror wouldn't come back to haunt him in the worst way. What was his back up plan going to be? He always had one. _Always. _But this time...how would he take off the chains that were tying him down? An image of someone popped into his mind then, and it was then he grew disappointed. There was something in Kazuya's mind that told him she wouldn't be up for it, completely against it even, and it would make him lower his guard a little to see her make the same broken face she did in front of him that one time. He also knew that she would do it simply because she no longer had a choice. Kazuya also needed her...it would only be just this once that he would admit that he would need help because it was apparent now that he couldn't do this alone. He couldn't save everything he's ever known by himself anymore.

Kazuya finally looked at Jin for the first time that day and he could see a burning curiosity in his son's eyes as said man stared at him.

"You've done something haven't you?..." He asked after figuring out what the look on his father's somewhat stricken face meant, "what have you done?"

There it was. The look Kazuya was trying to avoid all this time. What was he really expecting? Jin would never be able to write off and forgive all that he's done. There would be no way. There would be nothing he could do that would ever make Jin see him in a different light, there was only one thing left he could do and that was living up to his name and title.

"I killed someone..." He muttered.

Jin heard him loud and clear. Was he surprised? No. He knew his father was a murderer for the longest of years, he just didn't know why all of a sudden it seemed to bother him. Was he starting to grow a conscious? Unlikely. So why would some blood on his hands make him finally look down at them in horror?

"You may find this as a surprise, but for once I actually didn't mean to. I didn't even want to, didn't even have the urge," He shut his eyes for a moment as he vividly remembered everything that happened that night, "I snapped her neck right in two.."

Jin's eyebrows furrowed slightly in disturbance. It still didn't sit well with him how his father could talk so openly and freely about murder, but he figured after years of dipping in that pool of insanity he came to accept what he does as what it is. Still, Jin remained silent and standing as he continued to listen to him.

"I want to say it was a knee-jerk reaction, but what she did didn't warrant my actions..." He said lowly.

Jin crossed his arms and sat on the very edge of the table closest to his father. He watched every single emotion pass over his face and was surprised to learn that this was something that truly bothered him. Multiple questions were on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't think it would be right to ask them.

"I never planned to take her home, but I did plan to spend a quarter of my night with her and things were going fine until she reached for me—more like my chest—and the first couple of times she did so it bothered me enough for some reason to stop her, but she was persistent" Kazuya sighed then and ran a hand through his hair, "before I even knew what I was doing she was suddenly slumping against my chest like a rag doll"

Jin's eyes widened slightly, his running imagination giving him a nice image of what a dead girl looked like. He grimaced and shook his head, what the hell was Kazuya thinking?

"So a girl decides to touch you while the both of you are having sex so...you break her neck?" He asked aloud still trying to wrap his head around it.

Kazuya sighed, "It's not as black and white as that. This wasn't even something I thought of doing my body just acted on its own"

"Devil?"

"No. I would've blacked out had that been the case and her death would've been more brutal than me simply breaking her neck..." Kazuya surmised.

Jin threw up his hands in frustration, "Then what?!"

"I'm telling you I don't know," Kazuya told him firmly as he looked up at him, "there are just some things I can't explain"

The younger male of the two sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose. He heard everything Kazuya said, it just wasn't adding up. His father may be a lot of things but stupid and overtly violent wasn't either of them. This couldn't be the only thing bothering him, sure he may have regretted killing the girl, but something that minor in his world wouldn't affect him enough to neglect his work. There was definitely something else worrying him enough to keep his mind occupied.

"What else?" Jin demanded as he got up to pace, his mind working a mile a minute, "there's more to this than what you're telling me and I need you to so you can get your head in the game"

Kazuya watched his son pace back and forth, his dark eyes following every movement that he made. "Lars knows..."

It took a full on five minutes for Jin to react. Kazuya's words echoed over and over again in his head and he knew that he wouldn't be getting any kind of sleep later on that night. What would that mean for the company? And without the company, what would that mean for the deal? It would be broken obviously, but what did that mean for...

Jin was furious. Not only because something his father did could very well be the end of everything they've ever fought to accomplish, but also because this whole thing would affect someone that had nothing to do with it. No more company meant no more deal, no more deal meant no marriage, and no marriage meant Lili equals bad everything.

"He's blackmailing you isn't he?..." He demanded, fist shaking and eyes glowering at his father.

_'I know your little secret...even without any blood involved something like this can't be released to the public for consumption. Everything would be taken from you, the media wouldn't be able to get enough, and you'd be a fugitive to the law because we all know you wouldn't allow yourself to be captured and held in one place for that long. You won't be able to hide any longer in plain sight' _

Already knowing he was completely in the wrong, Kazuya still had the brass to be somewhat smug, "What do you think?"

Before he knew what really happened, his face and throbbing jaw was turned slightly to the right of where he was once looking. The punch may not have moved Kazuya's body so much, but the power put into it was enough to make his ears ring painfully and for his teeth to graze against the side of his bottom lip enough to make it bleed. He blinked slowly as he reached up his hand to wipe away the blood pooling on the side of his mouth away. He would only accept this one time because for once he actually felt like he deserved it. He would've done the same thing had the shoe been on the other foot, and technically it was Jin's fault that they were both in the predicament they were in in the first place. It was just himself that made it that much worse, and now they were both at the mercy of Lars and Rochefort.

Jin gritted his teeth the more he looked at him, completely disgusted with what he was seeing. How could he do something so stupid?! Better yet, how did Lars even find out about what happened?! He wouldn't put it past his uncle to do something as trivial and annoying as having people watch them, and he quite possibly did have someone watching them. Who? He wouldn't know, but he was going to find out. If Lars was blackmailing Kazuya, then it was no doubt catastrophic.

"What is he even blackmailing you with?" Jin asked while pacing again, trying and failing to get himself to calm down and think the situation through more thoroughly.

If Kazuya went down, then that would leave Jin as the sole owner of Mishima Co, but because the deal was still in place even without him there, Rochefort would get all of his shares while he's rotting away in prison or constantly on the run as a fugitive at large.

Kazuya was still trying to massage his jaw back into feeling state considering it went numb a couple seconds ago, "He wants me to release more of my shares, and yours too. He wants the agreement with Rochefort to be a thirty-five, thirty-five, thirty cut"

Jin chuckled cynically, "He even knows about the deal? How did this happen?"

"Because like I suspected, he's working with Rochefort"

_'What do you want?' _

_'I already have what I want, it's what my partner wants which is why I'm here. I'm sure you know him, Edward Rochefort'_

Things couldn't get any better could they? Every time Jin turned around something wasn't going his way or was getting in his way. It was times like these that he would just rather throw up his hands and say fuck it and leave everything to his father like it was in the past. All of this was starting to become far too much and too complicated, and a part of him didn't want to do it anymore. A small part of him wanted to go back home and forget about all of this, but he was in no position to do so. Just like his father told him in the past, he chose all of this. It angered him that he would have to fight tooth and nail for this company once again.

Kazuya could see his son fighting with himself. He knew what he was feeling, and he knew what he would decide in the end. They were both stuck to this company and if they were going down, they wouldn't go down without a fight. He swore to himself he would get them out of this situation, but if he was going to save them both along with the company then he couldn't keep Jin in the dark about the other half of the story. If he was going to tell him the truth he might as well tell him the whole thing.

"There's no way he's doing that for free either," Jin surmised aloud, "knowing Lars, he would want something in return for such a valuable piece of information"

This was his chance to own up, "That's another thing I wanted to tell you. Apparently, Rochefort promised him Lili in return for his partnership"

_'There's nothing he could give you that you would be satisfied with, so what's the catch? What's keeping you in alliance with him?' _

_'Well since you asked so politely I'll tell you. His cute little daughter...'_

_'Do you have any idea how old she is? I would've never thought you would dip so low' _

_'Oh come on! Let's not pretend that you don't fool around with young girls as well. We both know the younger the better, the only difference between you and me is that this one isn't a woman yet' _

_'And her engagement to my son?' _

_'Consider it forever postponed—or at least until I die' _

That little bit of information bothered them both. Of all people her father would entrust her to, Lars was probably the worst person he could think of. If Kazuya was really thinking about it, he knew that Lars had a very violent and very manipulative streak going through him. That girl wouldn't be able to live through that, not again, not after her father. That's why it would make him uncomfortable to ask what he planned to ask of her seem even more despicable, but it had to be done.

"That can't be all he wants" Jin muttered, "he's digging for something"

Before Kazuya could say anything else, Jin was grabbing his slate grey blazer off a nearby chair and walking out the clear double doors leading out into the main hallway. He wouldn't call after him because he knew the kid would do anything rash, he wasn't his complete photo copy. Kazuya stood up himself, slightly amused that his vision swayed a little as he realized that Jin punched him harder than he originally thought.

He straightened his jacket and looked at the clock on the wall which read 7:45pm. It was late enough in the day to where he knew he could leave. Unless his work piled up on him, which it didn't, he wouldn't have to stay till late night.

A/N: No excuses! So I won't put any down. I'm happy I got this out to you guys and I hope it hasn't been so long that you guys may have to go back and re-read chapter seventeen just so you're able to know what's going on. I also hope that I made good on what I said on the explanation chapter and that this installment is a good one.

P.S - No I do not have a new computer yet, it's just me and my good ole iPad.

**Fun-fact** - I may be moving to Washington D.C for awhile for my next school year. I don't know how a southern girl (Born and raised in Miami, but I've been living in Georgia for 10+ years) like me is going to be able to handle it, but I'm pretty sure people will know I'm not from there. Shout out to all my up North peeps reading this, and if you don't mind...let me know what to expect other than cray weather


	20. Chapter 19

**Gone Forever**

Chapter 19

"What do you mean?" Lili's eyes widened and tears threatened to spill over, "What are you saying?"

Her father stared at her slight whimpering form, and felt nothing. "I think you already know...or at least your emotions do"

"What reason would Jin have to—and besides that..." She had no control over her voice breaking now, "he's dead?"

She couldn't believe it—him. How could someone like him be killed? He was his teacher's star student for crying out loud! Compared to Jin he probably wouldn't do well, but he could at least hold his own, there was no reason at all for him to die. A cool shiver went up and down her spine. When did this happen? While she was out looking for him? It had to be the most likely time, especially since that woman that worked at his job said he left with someone tall, but now that she thought about it that description could fit anyone. Sebastian was pretty tall, taller than her at least—about a head's worth, but she couldn't necessarily point her finger at her butler who was regularly home at that time of night. The whole helping staff could probably vouch for him.

He could only watch as she tried to pull herself together in front of him, and her strong little walls were starting to crumble. Edward wasn't sure if she knew it herself, but that kid must've meant a great deal to her if he got a reaction like that. It was also apparent that she was thinking over things, trying to figure out what really happened because she knew better than to fully believe him. Edward would have to present her with some insignificant (in his eyes) facts if he wanted her to at least lean towards doubt in her convictions. If he could get her to second guess herself in any way possible, it would be easier for him to really get into her mind and twist things in his favor.

"Did you know that your little boy toy regularly participated in the Iron Fist tournament?" Her father asked her simply, interrupting her train of thought promptly enough to gather her attention.

Her eyebrows scrunched together in thought for a moment before a certain memory hit her full force. They were lying in bed—rather he was, and she could feel his eyes roaming all over her skin as she pulled on her clothes. He wanted her to stay longer with him, long enough for him to feel like he was ready to start putting on his clothes to leave as well, but she couldn't because her father kept messaging her to come home. It would be her second time that night bringing up the tournament as a means of escape from her father and she asked him if he ever thought about fighting in it himself so he could quit that restaurant job he always complained about.

He looked at her, and shook his head with a smile, his words specifically being: _'I may be Baek's pupil but I don't use his teachings for things like that, it's insulting to him, plus he'll kill me if he ever found out'_

The look on her face confirmed it all. He never told her anything.

She shook her head back and forth, "No..no I asked him and he told me he didn't—"

Edward held up his hand and her mouth shut immediately, "In the last Iron Fist, your little boy toy lost to that Mishima brat. Watching the two scrabble was entertaining sure, but Kazuya's kid was at his prime then and was on a war path towards his father at the time. No one could get in his way, but that Korean boy was the only person that got close enough." He paused for a moment in the middle of his re-telling to adjust the cuff link that was pricking him slightly, "anyway, the red-head lost the match outright and afterwards things turned more into a street fight between the two outside. I didn't stick around much once that started but I heard that Baek's little star ended up in the hospital after that with a nasty wound on his back"

_'Does it hurt when I touch it?'_

_'No. It happened a long time ago, I got into a fight with a brute that didn't fight fair'_

Heartbreaking. Angering. Just plain disgusting. It was only after he died that she found out he had been lying to her. She may not have fully trusted her father's words as the truth, but the scar on his body was something she saw for herself. Once upon a time, she even touched it. All of the new information was just enough to almost make the blonde want to hate him. With all of her entire being she wished she could hate him for lying to her...and for leaving her so suddenly. He was her oasis, her past time that took her away from what was going on in her life. She could tell him anything and he wouldn't get mad or jealous because he already knew where he stood with her. Lili honestly thought that there were no secrets between them, no lies, but apparently she was wrong. She couldn't even wait until her father let up on her house arrest to go out and see him purely just to tell him off.

Edward spotted from the tall windows of his mansion that the sky was blanketed with a calm darkness, the beautiful colors of sunset bleeding away to something that was far greater. He was exhausted. Work was heavier on him because he didn't trust anyone else with his own company unless it was himself or Sebastian, who he knew had goals of his own. He couldn't count on that man because he knew his loyalties laid with the blood of the Celeste line before it did with him, and it would be foolish to think that he would ever truly see things in the light that Edward did. It was impossible. However. Sebastian also wished for the impossible, Edward knew, but he missed his chance long ago. He wished for a life forever by Lilian's side. Serving her, succumbing to whatever she wanted, her every whim and desire, and he would give her the world if he could. But she would never love him like she did Edward. That blonde haired, blue eyed devil would forever hold her heart in his tight clutch and she had a tight hold on him as well. Even after her death he never thought of re-marrying to anyone else, because no other woman could compare. Mistresses and the like of them could line up at his door, but he would never bed them on the same mattress that he once shared with his wife. Even while she was alive he never desecrated that room with another female, nor any of the other family rooms. The guest rooms were open game though.

"It's dark out Emilie," her father rose from his chair and lightly pushed it in behind him, "you should get to bed"

She nodded and rose from her seat as well, not bothering to push it in because she simply didn't care to with the news she just received. Edward left the room first, his long strides guiding him back towards the direction of his office, while she slowly made her way to her room where she could hopefully find solace in her dreams.

* * *

Dark eyes stared listlessly out onto a snow-covered road and deeply foggy atmosphere, so much so, that it blotted out most of the rays of the sun and left the air around him a stale grey. A thought entered his mind to move from the current position he was in, but his mind kept pestering him with questions like why? what's the use? and why not stay here? He had to fight hard with himself to come up with a reason to move from the spot he was in, and he found one soon enough.

_I have to figure out what happened here, to everyone._

To everyone? Who was everyone? What did those people mean to him he wondered. That was the first thing to pop up in his mind, but he didn't understand what it truly meant. What did he have to figure out? And why did it seem so important that he be the one to find out? He figured he would find out the second he moved. How was he suppose to do that again? Oh yeah, first start with your fingers and toes it shouldn't be that hard. He wiggled them and found that all appendages were stiff and sore but would move nonetheless, it was also apparent that he was incredibly cold. Whenever he blinked he could see crystals sticking to the ends of his eyelashes, and if he stopped blinking for any amount of time that was too long his eyelids would get stuck.

Bigger limbs next. He tried to move either of his arms, but both of those seemed to be stuck in the same place. One was clutching at his slow beating heart, and the other seemed to be holding him up by grabbing onto the nearby wooden bench sitting low beside him. Well that was a bust, see about the legs. He tried, and those had the similar results as the arms. Completely stuck—or rather, he realized next, completely blocked. He hadn't realized that he was looking at the scenery around him through something else, something completely clear, but cold. Was he—was he trapped in something? He gritted his teeth and moved his torso a bit more forcefully and found his assumption to be correct. There was space to move around, but not enough to be completely free. Every other direction he moved in was met by the same hard, cold surface, and he knew for a fact he really was trapped. His languid breath passed through his lips in a large icy puff and bounced back into his face. Yep. Definitely trapped. But it was imperative that he was free. He didn't know why, but now that he better knowledge about why he couldn't move like he wanted to, it seemed even of more importance that he figure out a way to get out of this.

Mustering up strength he didn't know he had, he simply moved about wildly and ended shattering his entrapment by breaking through it. He fell to the hard, cold ground in an oomph and groaned at the intense pain residing in his chest. What little sunshine there was caressed the skin of his back for the first time and he took pleasure in it, sighing in content for what seemed like the first time in his whole existence. He had no memory of his past, and no thought for his future. He only knew of his present and his sun that was shining on him.

* * *

Jin had no idea what he was doing in this place.

Right when he left the office at the start of midnight, his phone buzzed with a message. He was angry enough to ignore it at first, but then he considered the thought of him missing something important just because of the awful situation his father put them both in would make him even more angry. Of course it was something from Lars, just the person he wanted to decapitate completely. How that man got his number of all things, the personal one, he would never know unless Nina decided to fess up. That traitor.

He was sitting on a bench in front of a merry-go-round. It was so creepy and to this day he still had a deeply rooted fear of them and being around them. He despised them as a child and hated them even more as an adult. The creepy music that played over and over, the soul sucking round-a-bout motion of the ride itself, and not to mention the creepiest part of the whole thing which were the porcelain, decorated horses that they made you sit on. They're the worst, not to mention the fact that when he was a child he could've sworn they were real horses impaled to a ride that was suppose to fill you with such joy. Well it didn't fill him with joy, no, the porcelain horses staring at him with their multiple-colored eyes did not send a feeling of joy going up and down his spine.

A hand fell on his shoulder and Jin flinched slightly and he rolled his eyes more at himself than at his uncle who had an amused expression on his face at his distress.

"Even after all this time you still don't like these things? They're everywhere in the states," the blonde sat down next to his nephew on the bench, almost too close for comfort, "and one would think you would grow out of such a childish phobia"

Jin colored a little and bristled, "There's nothing wrong with that! And besides you know I hate these things yet you invite me here, is this some kind of joke to you?"

Lars gave out a hearty laugh, bringing attention and eyes in their direction. Some women with their children put a hand to their mouths, a deep scarlet caressing their cheeks as they stared at one delectable bachelor sitting next to the famous Jin Kazama who's always on entertainment news about something. The world just wouldn't spin if they didn't see such a gorgeous man on their screen every so often, and who was that blonde guy sitting next to him? Are they related? Can't be! Close friends maybe? It'd be ridiculous to go up and ask! He looks foreign like he's not from here, maybe American? Perhaps he's mixed, there're some Japanese qualities about him as well. Well, whatever the case, he's such a heartthrob.

Jin gave Lars the side eye, he knew exactly what he was doing, "There's no way we're going to be able to have a decent conversation here like this if you draw attention towards me. Next thing you know I'll be running back to my truck from the onslaught of women"

Lars almost looked offended, "You're not the only one here that's young and handsome"

"You're an old man wearing younger men's clothes while probably wearing pounds of makeup like the sorcerer you are, trying to trick women to jump into bed with you" Jin said with a heavy smirk on his face.

It was the blonde's turn to bristle and turn red in the face a little, his age being a sensitive topic of discussion, "That makeup thing was one time and it wasn't even a lot! And I don't need to trick women to want to sleep with me"

"Ohhh. Those are big words coming from you," Jin observed the deep red hoodie and hung low blue jeans wrapped around Lars's hips, "you had better be glad you've got the age well genes from Heihachi or you would be screwed"

The blonde folded his arms behind his head and leaned back a little, his eyes following the two kid boys that tripped and fell in front of them, "The only good thing that serves being part of the Mishima family, and whether you like it or not, you're part of it too even if you don't have your father's last name"

That's right. Jin remembered now that Lars didn't receive his father's last name either, but Kazuya did. In their family, it was almost the same as not claiming the kid as your's, that their not worthy enough of carrying your last name to begin with. Jin didn't mind it so much, being involved with his father's side of the family to begin with wasn't what it was cracked up to be. Considering how ruthless and cutthroat Lars really was anyway, he would fit right in Jin's spot quite nicely. Even though neither of them received the legacy that came with having Mishima attached to their names, just the fact of having their blood got them involved with them anyway. Sadly, even though they were in the same boat, it was for different reasons they were in that same boat. It was enough to make Jin pity his uncle, but not fully sympathize with him. In another life however, he thought that maybe they could've been friends.

"Kazuya doesn't count," Jin veered the conversation to a lighter hue, "he died, and of course time moved on without him. He would look more his age if that volcano thing hadn't of happened"

Lars knew what he was talking about, he just thought it uncanny that his little nephew could speak of it so casually as if it were an everyday thing for people's father's to get thrown into volcanoes and somehow magically survive it. He left it at that and looked up, noticing the women looking at them and gave the group a wink, making them scramble to look like they were doing something else other than stare at them (the more truthful ones swooned).

Jin rolled his eyes and sighed at his uncle's actions, while the blonde laughed once more, wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye.

"Do you remember when I brought you here for your..." Lars had to think for a moment, "your fifteenth birthday?"

So far the conversation was going well, and now that Lars brought up something like that, it all went straight to hell as far as Jin was concerned. Taking him down memory lane that involved that devil machine was not a good turn to take in getting in his good graces. Nonetheless he still remembered right along with him.

"A little juvenile for a fifteen year old but yes I remember," he threw him an accusatory glare, "you just wanted to remind me that someone at my age could still wet themselves and be publicly humiliated right?"

A far away, and cynical smile plastered itself on Lars's face as he remembered the scene well, "I didn't do that intentionally to hurt you. It was a surprise venue and you seemed to enjoy the whole park well before you got to the merry-go-round. I didn't know you had an unnatural fear of them until you got on the ride, and it's not like your helpful father told me anything about it either. And it was your mother's idea that we should get well acquainted with one another anyway..."

And that was when his father popped up. That morning his mother told him that his father wasn't going to be able to make it to his birthday this year, a business trip was keeping him away for that whole week and he was going to be tied up for an indefinite amount of time afterwards as well. Of course young Jin was bummed, but he was use to his father not being there for important dates. His birthday was missed on four different occasions at one point, and there was no use for him being super sad over this one. Naturally he felt overwhelmed when he suddenly saw his father standing there watching in horror as his fear got the best of him, the anger wasn't directed at him or anything, or even the fact that Jin was spending such an important day with Lars per se (although he was pretty irate about that), it was more of the fact that people were looking at his son with such a mixture of shock, pity, and disgust. It made it even worse that the whole ride had to be stopped just so he could get off. At the time, Kazuya only knew how to respond with brute force, anger, and the weight of his money.

_'You brought my son to a merry-go-round?!'_

_'I didn't know the kid was afraid of 'em, he just got on and started flipping shit!'_

_'This is why I said I didn't want you near him! I thought I told you to stay away from them'_

_'Sorry, but...that's not what your wife thinks'_

"You were inconsolable the whole time, just plain crying in front of everyone while your father and I tousled like we wanted to kill each other, and we did" Lars looked at Jin then, "I'm sorry if it may have seemed intentional from your point of view"

Although Jin wanted to be able to see through the obvious lie this farce of an apology was, he couldn't, because it wasn't. It was honest and heartfelt because Lars truly was sorry for that happening on his birthday. Even though it was spilt milk and it happened years ago, that specific memory was stamped in bright red in his mind.

He accepted the apology with the nod of his head and looked at the monstrosity in front of them once again, trying to figure out how it worked without getting so disgusted he couldn't look anymore. Besides that, Lars had more things to apologize for, like being the oil to the forest fire of destruction that his family tearing apart left behind.

"Are you still taking your medication?"

Jin halted. He wasn't expecting this to come up at all in their conversation, hell, he wasn't expecting this to come up at all for years because he hid the fact well enough. He didn't know how Lars of all people found out about that, but it was too late to lie about it now because the surprise showed all over his face. There was no other choice but to tell the truth about it now that his secret was out of the bag.

He sighed, "I'm not", The blonde rose his eyebrows at him and Jin was quick to reassure him, "what I mean is that I don't need to anymore...I stopped taking them last year"

For the first time in a long time since he's seen Lars's face, Jin actually saw emotion there, a sorrow and pity in his blue eyes that betrayed his age and betrayed everything his character was all about. He was probably realizing just how damaging his actions were to be able to trigger something like that to happen, the only thing he could take solace in was the fact that he wasn't the only to cause it. In a flash, it was all gone, and Lars reached down in his pocket to take out a pack of cigarettes. A green and white box that said Newport on them that Jin hadn't heard of before.

"It's an American brand, I brought it back with me since I like it so much" he seemed to struggle holding one between his fingers, they were shaking terribly with strong emotion, "I was skeptical when I asked you about that, I wasn't sure, but I heard things. Some time ago you had some strong symptoms of being in need of it when it was clear you should've been off of it already, and...I thought all of it were lies. I had no idea"

That part of his secret hadn't got out of course because he paid those guys off well, but apparently someone's lips were flapping. Jin's dark past was starting to creep up on him with black hands and he wasn't interested in taking a trip back down that specific lane. He couldn't and he wouldn't. If he didn't lay it to rest soon then it would forever haunt him, and he wanted to move on and forgive himself for that time. He wanted to forget too.

"I took care of it as soon as I heard the rumor floating about, I took care of it so it wouldn't damage you, but...", he glared angrily into the distance, "I bet he doesn't even know does he?"

The sounds of laughing children and their smiling mothers and grinning fathers all rung painfully in Jin's ears as he leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees.

"Don't tell him".

* * *

He slowly picked himself up, staring in slight shock at his slightly discolored blue skin, and turned around to see what it was exactly that was rooting him to the same spot for what felt like a long time. What he saw was surprising, but not shocking considering how cold he was. It was ice he was trapped in. Minus the gaping hole in the front of it, it formed the exact shape of his body and position that he was once stuck in. Looking at it filled him with such anxiety that it was a must he walk away from it.

His feet were bare as he crossed the abandoned road to the other side and he met with rows of abandoned stores. It looked as untouched and haunted as it felt outside, not a soul to be found. The windows were an old yellow and he could hardly see his own reflection, all he really knew for sure was that he was freezing and the fact that he was only wearing low hanging jeans weren't helping. There were more stores lined up for him to look at, but most had the same look as the one he paid the most attention to. It was a complete ghost town of what probably use to be a popular place.

He went further down the only road and could see in the distance a rainbow bouncing off of something at an awkward angle, he went closer to it and saw that it was a woman encased inside of ice like he was previously. She was beautiful. Absolutely stunning in his eyes and tall enough to just reach his collarbones. Her shoulder length black hair only touched below her shoulders and she wore a white floral dress, also barefoot. There was also a white headband in her hair, and it brought light to her brown eyes. The only thing that was wrong was her facial expression, it seemed so sad and forelorn and seemed to be directed right at him.

She was completely still, and he wondered if she was still alive inside of her frozen chamber and he found a burning desire within him wanting to help her, there was a risk to doing what he was about to do, but if she was indeed alive then she wasn't strong enough to break free on her own like he was. He reached his hand out slowly, and ever so lightly his fingertips grazed along the surface. Wet, completely solid, and...amazingly thin. It felt like the more he touched it, the lighter it felt, and the next thing he knew the whole thing just came crashing down with her still inside. He recoiled abruptly, a hissing noise echoing past his lips as pieces of her fell at his feet, blood and flesh a sickly deep red and black from the ice. A searing pain went through his body as he looked at her for a moment, and a guilt like no other washed over him.

He turned his back and left, now just determined to get the hell out of the place he was in. Screw finding out what happened to this town, he no longer cared. He just wanted to go to whatever home there was for him. Five minutes turned into twenty-five and soon about an hour passed of him just walking into nowhere. Much of the same scenery hadn't changed and almost seemed like he walked into a full blown circle, the same stores that were uninhabitable and all locked, and the same unsettling fog that didn't let up for even an instant. The only dynamic thing that caught his attention next, was the sound of a crying woman.

His footsteps slowed to a halt as the sound began to get clearer and sound less far away than when he originally heard it. It was a soft, heart-broken wail, and again he felt the need to help override his primary plan of getting the hell out of dodge. He figured it wouldn't take long and headed towards the sound, knowing that whoever the woman was most likely wasn't trapped in ice if he was able to hear her. The sidewalk suddenly veered off to the right and on the other side of the road, that sidewalk veered to the left, and left a large open space completely shrouded in fog. She didn't sound far now, just beyond the unknown and uncertainty that the atmosphere was providing, and he held nothing but relief inside of himself at the idea that he wouldn't be alone now. He would be able to ask her questions if she knew anything.

He walked straight into the thick fog, determined to find the girl and save her from her despair, and stopped in his tracks when he almost walked face first into something made out of stone. It came out of nowhere, and he didn't notice it until it was right on him. He took some steps back to get a better look at the object, and realized it was a statue. Large, and intricate carved wings were spread out in front of him, and they were attached to a man that was faced away from him with his head tilted forward and feet just barely brushing against the concrete. It looked as if the statue itself were about to give flight at any moment. It was roughly around his height, and was made in a way that was considered life like. Curiosity filled him to the brink, another dynamic thing that was starkly different from the town he just left. Where did it come from? And why was it here in the middle of nowhere? He walked around it and was surprised to find the woman as well, her image a little hidden away by the fog, but not enough to where he couldn't see her kneeled down in front of the statue. Her dull, grey dress may have been nice when she first got it but somehow got torn up during some sort of altercation. The hem of it was most likely longer than it was now, which was indicated by the long pieces that extended down past her bare feet, while the shorter ones barely passed her mid-thighs. It also once had sleeves, but those were torn as well. Her hair was the only thing that seemed like it hadn't been through hell as it was long and stretched down her back in blonde ringlets, while the bang going across her forehead was straight.

She was still weeping into her hands when he found her in front of the statue, and he reached out his hand towards her, hesitating a little once the image of the shattered ice woman crossed his mind, and he suddenly drew away. He didn't wish to hurt her. She continued to cry, yet a soft voice seemed to whisper along the air.

"My love," her voice was soft and whispy, almost like she were singing, and it echoed around him, "I only wish you would come back to me and forsake your eternal slumber, to a life here with me, which is also death..." A soft sigh, "is it selfish of me to want you here? Are we not meant to be as one?" the voice seemed to wait for a response and never got one, "I suppose we aren't, after all, you and I are not the same"

Something in him made him look at the angel statue's face, and just as he expected he was handsome and his eyes were closed as if asleep. But on either side of his head were horns that curved out and pointed straight ahead. How could an angel have horns?

* * *

A/N: I'm actually not at fault here. We're in the middle of moving to a new place and luckily I remembered my progress for this story enough to continue writing in my notes. There's more than this hanging around in there, I just wanted to cut this one short so you guys could get two parts instead.

Another thing I just want to vent to you guys is that I really dislike when people criticize my work for not being like the original story line. Why the hell would it be like the original story line if this is a fanfiction? Come on! I know people aren't that stupid. This is my story and I'll do whatever the hell I want with it, so if some of you don't like that I can't help you.

Venting over. I hope you guys enjoyed this installment and the next should be out soon if there aren't any problems. Happy Reading ~Sasusakui


	21. Chapter 20

**Lowest of the Low**

Chapter 20

"That's asking for too much," Jin glanced at him for a moment in slight surprise, he couldn't be serious, "there's no reason why your father shouldn't know that there was a time where you use to be at such a low point"

"That's _enough_" Jin hissed.

"What are you gonna do if you relapse?" Lars questioned simply.

Jin scoffed, "Don't pretend as if you care about me now and let's not forget that you are sleeping with the enemy that seeks to destroy both me and my father"

Lars paused, his mouth inches from his cigarette before regaining his composure and eventually wrapping his lips around it, "You know it's nothing against you Jin"

"Nothing against me..." Jin shook his head and barked out a laugh, "so you being promised Lili was nothing against me?"

The blonde almost dropped his cigarette on the ground, and his nephew noticed his reaction almost immediately. Jin surmised that Kazuya wasn't exactly suppose to go back and tell him that his uncle was promised Lili, which resulted in the dumbfounded look on his face now. Of all the things that Lars had done in his lifetime, there was a lot that he didn't regret. Stepping on people's toes to get where and what he wanted, destroying lives because that specific person was a nuisance, and constantly going after his half-brother's throat being some of the few things he could do all over again if he pleased or wished it but any amount of pain that he caused his only nephew...he couldn't seem to overlook it. Hell, here he was apologizing for something that happened over ten years ago that he didn't even mean to happen. He would be sorry to say that he indeed had a weakness.

"Are you trying to fool me?" Lars kept his cool composure despite the guilt he felt pulling him under, "you don't care about that girl. If anything I did you a favor"

Jin barked out a laugh, one loud enough to bring a little boy's attention, "You talk as if you know me so well, and what kind of underhanded favor is this? You and I both know your track record with women, bluntly speaking, you and my father have that same angry and violent streak running through your veins. Neither of you are as different from the other as you both would like to think"

"Then am I wrong? You do care about her? A girl you barely know and already you're coming to her rescue from something she doesn't need rescuing from" Lars shook his head with a cynical smirk on his face, "I'm nothing like that evil and dark man you call a father"

"You don't know what you're talking about, and I have my reasons regarding Lili and whom she's with"

Lars tilted his head, his neck meeting the cool metal of the bench they both sat on. If only he knew...

"I had no idea your infatuation with her ran so thick and deep nephew of mine, I would say she should feel flattered"

Jin sighed deeply, "It's as you said. I barely know her, so there's no infatuation there, however, I am as much as responsible for her as she is for me"

Lars quirked an eyebrow at him, "Your father did tell you right? That there won't be a marriage between the two of you"

Onyx eyes sharply gazed at Lars then, a flicker of glowing white irises coming to view only for a moment as his anger resided just underneath the surface of his skin.

"That's where you're wrong," Jin stood then, "I'm marrying her and saving this company whether you want me to or not, and if you care about me like you seem to want me to believe, then you'll stay out of my way"

The blonde smirked up at his nephew before standing up himself, knowing that this little meeting he had arranged with him was a complete and utter failure. He had misjudged Jin's reaction to the thought of him taking Lili out of his hands. Unfortunately he may just make an enemy out of not just one, but two of his own family members.

He wanted to avoid that by all means possible, and despite what Kazuya may think, he actually did care deeply about his nephew. Even go so far as to say that Jin was a little bit of a weakness for him. There was so much of Jun in the kid that it was hard for the blonde to pretend that he could be nonchalant and aloof when it comes to his wishes, which was part of the reason why he stayed away from him for so long. Even though it was partially his fault as well for uprooting his family at such a young and impressionable age, he could say confidently that while Jin was growing up he would've been able to win the boy over easily and maybe even grow into being the father figure he always wanted. But that opportunity was gone now and Jin had already grown into his own man, a man that he had molded and looked up to all on his own...Lars wished he had been there.

What the blonde wanted more than anything, Jin embodied. A son. But not everyone could get what they wanted and the same went for his nephew.

"Stop fighting me nephew. There's a reason your father and I aren't on good terms now, and despite my reluctance to do the same with you don't think I won't" Lars spoke solidly.

Jin waved off the threat with his hand as he began to walk away, wondering in his mind where he parked. "Your half-assed attempt to intimidate me isn't doing much uncle, besides, I know by now that I'm your favorite"

* * *

Lili flinched as a bundle of clothing was thrown at her face harshly and dropped down into her slim fingers. The slam of her bedroom door should've stung her a little, but it didn't, as the action itself was familiar and did nothing to harm her feelings even more than they already were. Her heart was broken enough. Her sanctuary, temporary paradise, her vice...was stolen away, and apparently Jin had something to do with it. She wouldn't go so far as to say she believed the words coming out of her father's mouth, but she couldn't exactly rely on the stand up characters that made Kazuya and his son (whose business dealings were less than honest). If the blonde thought she didn't know who to trust before, she definitely didn't know who to turn to now. For once, she really knew what it felt like to have no one behind her supporting her, she had no one in her corner except for Kazuya but that came at a price and he wouldn't be there for her like how her favorite red head was (and just the thought of her having any kind of skin contact with the man made her squirm in more ways than one).

Blue and silver orbs finally looked at the soft fabric being clutched in her hands and she held it up to see better, the billowing piece unfurling all the way down and resting right above the floorboards. Her head tilted to the side a little in thought as she took the time to critically gaze at the dress and think it beautiful except for its depressing color—a slate and unforgiving shade of black. It sported a cowl neckline, and was overall plain to look at, but because it was her wearing it, it would probably be sported by the average female as a high-glam and fashionable sort of attire while personally Lili herself wouldn't wear it anywhere except for maybe her death bed.

The young blonde then remembered that Sebastian had said a while before throwing the dress at her that she had thirty minutes to be ready and downstairs or she could stay home in her room feeling sorry for herself. His exact words. They stung of course, she definitely wasn't feeling sorry for herself of all people, she was feeling torn and all the emotions and sensations of being trampled on because of obvious reasons. She also had no idea where Sebastian could be taking her, and for some reason she felt as if her father hadn't gave her permission to go anywhere, but didn't mind since it was Sebastian that was escorting her to whatever destination. Edward had full knowledge of their relationship as well, and he knew Sebastian wouldn't take Lili to whatever place for sheer amusement so he trusted the butler so to speak not to take her places that he wouldn't approve of.

Silk blue lace shorts were shimmied down past narrow hips and the matching button up was thrown away to the floor. Her eyes ventured around her room as she dressed herself mindlessly and robotically, eventually catching her own reflection in the vanity mirror and pausing in her actions. God she needed to eat something. She seemed slimmer than she usually did and it seemed as if she lost quite a bit of muscle mass since being home and away from the hospital, her pallor also seemed paler than usual. Hopefully the nature of the dress would fill out her figure more until she put on more weight, it wouldn't do her skin any justice though.

Matching blue lace undergarments were covered up as the blonde pulled her melancholy attire up and over her head, struggling for a moment to put her arms through the appropriate holes of the dress before blowing a piece of her hair out of her face in triumph once she was done. She could easily find shoes to match and already had a pair in her mind as she opened up her two door, walk-in closet. Her eyes were met with a vast array and variety of shoes as well as clothes of the latest fashion, as well as old clothing that could very well be brought back into society if she was the one that wore them.

Despite her closet being the same as grade A porn for men to women, her eyes lacked even more of its luster than it did before she walked in. Most of these clothes were either rewards for being a good girl to her father, or apologies from when he was being too rough with her to the point where she quite literally had to stay home to avoid being seen by anyone until she healed up. The fact that she still wore these clothes obviously meant something was wrong with her, she knew for a fact something was wrong with her, and she once heard that cold blonde bitch say something along the lines of having a few screws loose about her. What could she say? To her knowledge, her own mother had a few secrets as well, and did things that didn't make sense, and sometimes had these terrible mood swings that made toddler aged Lili sit in a corner and watch wide eyed.

Lili chalked it all up to there's something wrong with everyone and left those thoughts alone, growing a little wary when she realized that she couldn't remember when she picked up her red patent leather point toe sofia stiletto pumps. It was scary being consumed so much by her thoughts that her body just completed her mind's objective without her even consciously aware until after the fact. Scary indeed.

:::

The black leather seats inside of Sebastian's all black Lexus were cold to the touch on Lili's thighs and she shivered slightly as she looked at the temperature setting up front and saw that it was as cold as it could go. She watched her butler idly with his rolled up sleeves and pressed appearance and surmised that the man must be somewhat of an oven wearing the same thing every single day and expected to do strenuous things while wearing it. A part of her respected yet felt disgusted by him.

The car began to move and pull out of her driveway and instantly she felt lifted seeing her home disappear on the horizon behind her. Just a little, the chains tying her to the place were loosened and her lungs expanded for what seemed like forever after being held in a vice like grip. It no longer mattered where they were going, or why they were going to said place, it was the fact that life seemed to bustle around her as people walked about doing their daily routines without a care in the world. She wished she could be as carefree as them one day and she surmised—maybe that kind of comfortability could be given to her from Jin—she shook her head then, images of blood splattering across walls and dark alleys littering her mind made her think of someone who would never lay eyes on her again. Her chest hurt just remembering how ridiculously red his locks were up close.

Against her knowledge, Sebastian was glancing at his young passenger in his rear view mirror. Her face was a cold contrast against her mother's when the ladder was stuck deep within thought. While Lilian seemed serene and calm all the way around, there was a harsh coldness in the contours of Lili's face and upturned mouth, a dissatisfied glare in her eyes that made the lesser person quiver in incompetence. He cared not whether her thoughts made her angry enough to show on her face, or if when she rested her facial expression just fell into a scowl on its own. He didn't find her irritable, or non-irritable mood surprising, if he was in her position then surely he would most likely be the same albeit a bit crueler. It was human nature.

His eyes momentarily ventured from her back to the road—once making sure everything was fine, and then looking at her again. Immediately the sight of blue veins popping up in places all over her pale skin made him fill with alarm, once seeing them on Lilian's hands when she began to get sick (for reasons he knew why) and watched them spread all over her body like a disease. Lili's were thicker and more noticeable, spreading from what it seemed like her chest up the nape of her neck and all the way down to her upper most thigh.

"It's imperative that you sleep as often as time will allow" their eyes met suddenly in the small rear view mirror, "you know your father will disapprove of the pallor your skin is taking now," he paused wondering in uncertainty if he should offer the next piece of information, "despite your father's behavior, he is actually afraid of sickness in every way, shape, and form. Which is why he despises it."

Her mouth formed a small 'o' in her surprise. She surmised it would make sense for him to be afraid of something like that, it seemed terribly humane of him and the characteristic itself did not fit the man. Against her will she shivered.

"Did this fear stem from my mother's passing?" Her voice gave away no sort of emotion.

To his ears it sounded like a simple question. One that was meant to satiate her curiosity instead of serving as an excuse to wallow in sadness in any sort of memory provided, something a normal human being would do, but Sebastian assumed that no method of coping was good enough for his young blonde passenger. He answered her question with just as much emotion as her asking it.

"I don't know where it came from. All I know is that it wasn't there before, this fear..." He paused, gathering his words, "I suppose seeing her slowly deteriorate from the inside out did that to him. He was so used to her being fine on her own that when he realized she could no longer walk by herself...it was like dipping him in the most freezing waters on this earth"

Lili let all of it sink in. Wondering vaguely if she should've been feeling some sort of emotion by then. It was almost scaring her. She was starting to feel hallowed out, her innards, her heart, her emotions, and conscious...where had they all gone? Where did her tears go as well? With a cruel disdain of herself, she wondered if such things only happened to be reserved for her slaughtered lover. Wanting to think of something else, her blonde head glanced down at her arms and legs, as if finally seeing the paleness of them for the first time, and frowning. Blue eyes peered up at him again, and he disregarded her with his own silver orbs sliding away from her gaze. Obedient as ever, she nodded and leaned her body weight on her armrest and pressed her cheek lightly against the cold window.

"I'll keep that in mind, but before I resign myself to silence again I want to ask you something..."

Sebastian had an inkling of feeling on what the young blonde wanted to ask. He could see it in the way her blue eyes seemed to set in determination and courage. Apparently it was important, and he made it a priority to listen.

"Lets hear it"

She swallowed thickly, "When my mother was sick...I remember her frequently coughing up blood, and when I asked her about it she told me not to worry. What exactly caused her to be so sick?"

Unbeknowest to Lili, Sebastian's gloved fingers tightened on the steering wheel, his anger rising to near furious heights. "Why do you ask?"

A frown marred her pretty features at the question directed towards her own instead of an answer, "Because...whatever she had...I think it may have been passed down to me"

All the more reason, Sebastian thought with the shake of his head. Without thinking, he pressed down more on the gas pedal, willing them to get to the destination faster so her eyes could lay on the truth in front of her.

Without her knowledge she had unconsciously leaned foward towards him with interest, hoping that he would give her the answers she sought, and maybe even comfort. But she frowned once she realized that she would get none, only pressure from the car picking up speed pushing her further back into her seat. She bit her lip as she stared at the rigid posture Sebastian held as he drove, wondering if she should push her luck prying further when it was quite obvious that he had no intention of answering her any time soon. If you don't ask now, if you let your fear get in the way again, then you'll never know, a little voice in the back of her head told her. Her head hung, it was right and she had been letting her fears win out for the longest now.

"So you won't tell me?" She tried.

There were a total of two nicks. One twitch on the side of his mouth and another at the end of his eyebrow. A tall-tale sign that she had better stop, and that cold tingly going up her spine was a sign as well. She should stop, and now would be a good time, but her lips moved before she could stop them and her voice sounded before she could drown it.

"Its my mother," she bit out to her own surprise, "what are you hiding from me?"

The car jerked to a sudden stop, lurching her forward harshly and straight into the tight grip of Sebastian's cold, gloved hand. He held onto her jaw so deeply that tears sprang to the corner of her eyes, she knew that later on this would be an ugly bruise she would have to cover up as well. Sebastian peered into her eyes in what seemed to be disgust before another expression flitted across his face and he seemed to be perplexed the more he stared at her. He brought her face closer to his own and Lili couldn't help but feel a squirm go through her entire body, that was until an undescriable fear had her squirming violently in his grip once the sight of his thumb looming over her right eye began to get closer and closer.

"Be still child!" He commanded.

She whimpered and reluctantly did as he said, her eyes going wide as he brought his digit over the surface of her eye, and removed her contact. Looking at the object with a hint of annoyance, he discarded it out the window, to Lili's alarm.

"But Edward!-

He silenced her with one look, one stern expression that meant his hand if she tried to go against it, "Never attempt to hide or conceal your heritage. Not from your father, not from anyone."

She couldn't help her sputtering, "But what about-

"I'll talk to your father about it" he told her while loosening his grip from around her jaw, to which she sighed gratefully, "you won't wear one of those things ever again"

* * *

He approached the woman slowly, and the more he advanced the more he realized she was deaf to the world around them except for the angel—whatever it was in front of her that seemed to capture more than her attention. Her eyes peered up at the winged lovingly and longingly, as of she could only stare at and love him from afar, and how sad and crestfallen she looked because of it.

"The fate of a human is so sad," her long fingers reached out and touched the hard stone of the angel's chest, "but the fate of my kind is even worse. We were born to suffer ever since we were created and put on the Earth, and look at me now...still suffering while humans get a reprieve every once in a while. It's not fair."

The voice was direct now, and he watched her lips move slightly as she spoke them, catching a glimpse of the daggers in her mouth as she did...and becoming afraid. A sense of dread and apprehension was stomping down his spine at a rate he wasn't comfortable with.

"I am a foolish being that preys on the likes of you and your kind and here I find myself ensnared by one that was touched by a demon but still human all the same. Loving him will destroy me..." Her eyes looked at him only for a moment then, and just as quickly looked away, "and then there's you..." A cynical smile touched her pretty face then, "I'm not allowed to be with you..."

A frown touched his face, his fear ebbing away slightly at her words indicating that she wanted to be with him, but couldn't. With the incisors in her mouth flashing him though, he wasn't sure how long it would be before that idea turned into something that appalled him more than appealed to him. His attention however, was once more stolen by the woman as she spproached him with a grace and appeal that made his worries and apprehension fade away. Her long hair fell around her like silk, and the swell of her hips were enticing even through the shreds of her dress. She rested her palms against his chest gently and he let her, and their chests met and he allowed it, completely enticed with the way she captured his attention. Her smile turned into something more gentle once she realized that he nearly returned her longing gaze into his face.

"However," her tone of voice was enchanting, a breathless sort of lilt that spoke sweet nothings to him, "maybe I could convince you to stay with me...unlike him...who left me. I don't want to be alone"

His heart beat for her for a total of ten seconds. Her fingertips had reached up his neck and carrassed the side of his face, her other hand playing with the ends of his hair, and there were tears in her eyes. His hands had settled on the middle of her back for a moment and then traveled down to her waist, pulling her closer until they were close enough to feel each other's breaths sweeping across their skin. Unbeknowest to him, she approached his neck slowly, her jaws starting to part and unhinge...preparing to take a bite out of his throat.

Eyes snapping open harshly and pupils retracting back to their normal size, Kazuya shot up from his sheets, his hand immediately shooting up to the side of his neck. A chill ran up his spine and he shivered, his breath coming out in puffs of cold for a moment before he really took notice and grew alarmed. His heart rate calmed down eventually and so did he, and he was frankly surprised he didn't have another episode from the fact. The more he tried to recall his dream, the more he found that he couldn't. The fog from his dream seemed to settle around his mind in reality, because figuratively speaking, the fog was closing in on him and he feared he would no longer remember who he was or what he was doing the day before. He tried smacking himself a little, making a mental list of all the important paperwork he signed the day before, and sighing in relief once that task became more of a swift task rather than a tedious chore. Kazuya couldn't quite place it, but he felt as if he dodged something by just the skin of his teeth, and that he had gotten away from the clutches of something...something that wanted to devour him.

_That was a close one boy, you were almost taken away that time!_

Frowning, Kazuya recognized the faint voice of an elder man he once knew as a child, but his father had slain him in cold blood within the confines of the Mishima home. He knew instinctively that this was a ghost amongst many from his past, one of the more calm spirits from the few that still lingered. He would've laughed at the irony of it him, the Kazuya Mishima, who didn't believe in miracles, believed in the existence of ghosts and spirits, but it wasn't funny. Just ironic. Some would say that being able to communicate with the dead is a miracle itself, but he hardly thought it so. All they did was moan and groan about how they were wronged while still alive, while others seemed to only find extreme pleasure in misleading a mortal - or rather immortal - or whatever category Kazuya fit into, into believing whatever fact given on the topic of afterlife.

Long story short, Kazuya thought the only real hell was the one he was presented with.

He turned his head in the direction of the voice, surmising that the source must be in front of the double doors leading into his bedroom, or maybe...right in front of his bed perhaps? Kazuya knew he had impeccable hearing, but for some reason it sounded like the voice was flickering in and out, as if it were jumping from place to place without any sort of control over itself. This phenomenom also surprised him considerably because he had never been able to clearly hear the sprirts around him before, just little whispers here and there that only served the purpose of attempting to scare him. Those tactics only worked for so long, eventually ending once he got older. Now it seemed as if he could have a full blown conversation with someone whom had already passed, and he would put that theory to the test.

"Nishiki?"

After a few moments of looking around aimlessly, Kazuya almost felt as if he should feel angry for being played for a fool from ghosts no less, and who exactly had done it. He knew there was a reason why he always hated Nishiki, which is probably why his father had the man butchered in that underground room underneath the house. The man played too many games, and his father was not the playful type. Apparently.

_And hear I thought you'd forgotten all about me, I can only remember how you looked when you were a pup! Eyes wide and shiny when I told you those stories._

Kazuya rolled his eyes as the ghost spoke in a pleasant tone about a point in time where he was quite sure he wasn't enthralled at the stories Nishiki told. Quite frankly, he hated them, and so did his father, which is why said man would find any excuse to leave the room and force a young, uninterested Kazuya to stay in the room and pretend to be interested with a silencing glare that left no room to argue on the matter. If Nishiki was still under the impression that he cared in the slightest even after death then Kazuya was a better liar than he thought and had been a good one ever since he was young.

"Why does your voice sound like that?" Kazuya looked this way and that, his head now turned in a new direction once it sounded like Nishiki's voice jumped once more, "close yet far"

_Think of it as tuning into the correct radio station, one wavelength may have better signal than the other, your mind and conscious are just trying to find the right one._

Kazuya's ears were ringing. It was starting to become painful for him to continue to try and pinpoint the voice, so he settled on one particular spot, and kept his attention there. He had always known since he were young that he were spiritually aware, but he wondered vaguely where the sudden increase came from. Putting that thought on the back burner for a moment, he remembered that Nishiki had said something about him almost being taken away or something.

"What do you mean by I was almost taken away? And when you say that time, there must have been more than one attempt"

_Before I answer that, do you know exactly how long you've been asleep?_

Kazuya frowned, his eyebrows scrunching together in thought. It couldn't have been more than a couple of hours, he naturally didn't get much sleep as it was thanks to devil randomly becoming restless without constant bloodshed to keep him fed and tame. It certainly didn't feel like it had been long either, he could still feel the fatigue of sleep threatening to pull him back at any moment he decided to let his guard down. If Kazuya had to make a guess, he would say he had only been asleep for four hours at the most.

He shrugged, wondering if Nishiki the ghost could even see the action, "No more than a few hours at best."

The ghost harrumphed and Kazuya envisioned the man pulling on that stupid beard of his. _You've been out for three days kid._

His surprise was evident in the way his breathing hitched. Horror and apprehension frazzling his nerves, not at the thought of being asleep for such an uncharacteric amount of time, but at the amount of work that was sure to have piled up in his in box that Anna probably had no intention of touching. Kazuya paled at the visual his mind conjured and he was sure the picture was only something that could come out of his nightmares.

_You pale pretty nice kid._

His eyes narrowed, "Stop. I'm about as old as you were when you were alive, so you'll refrain from referring to me as a child"

_You say that now, and a couple years down the line you'll be wishing that people would call you a kid again_.

Eyebrow raising in amusement, Kazuya continued, "Something tells me being asleep for three days isn't particularly normal...and I would know considering I know my sleeping habits"

Nishiki fell silent for a long moment and Kazuya thought for a moment that the ghost may have faded away for the time being, until he spoke again in a hushed tone.

_There isn't much I can tell you, but you should consider getting a new playmate, the one you have already doesn't seem to have the best of intentions._

* * *

Lars was still against Jin's final decision. The sweden felt whole-heartedly that Kazuya should know about his own son, but he couldn't figure out if he wanted him to know simply for being the bearer of bad news, for him to realize that Jin was closer to his estranged half uncle than to his own father, or if he actually cared about Jin's well-being and the fear of him eventually re-lapsing pushed him further to dial the number for Kazuya's office right now. He sighed, and with a glare stared at the ground. Was he really so horrible? Why couldn't he find it within himself to find a way to love and support his nephew without somehow bringing Kazuya into the mix and tainting it all. If anything it seemed as if the man ruled his whole life and he knew he would come up with excuse after excuse to prove that wrong, but his actions would point to something different. Still, Kazuya should be made fully aware of how much his negligence has affected Jin and his life. Just the thought of his nephew going through something so painful such as addiction by himself had Lars clenching his fists and his jaw clenching painfully. He could do nothing but think, if only he had known he would've done something. Then he scoffed, somehow knowing exactly how that conversation would've gone down with him.

_You would've what huh? You would've what? You and Kazuya were too busy going after each other's throats to notice how much I was struggling just to avoid looking at my medication and wondering how I should discreetly get more of it, even if you did know you wouldn't have done a damn thing. _

Lars almost drew back, stung a little, that his mind and conscious knew his nephew thought so low of him, but he himself couldn't seem to believe it. He refused to believe that there was no chance for them.

Earlier when he looked at Jin he could clearly see what their conversation was doing to him, it was tearing open old wounds and that wasn't what Lars had wanted to meet him at this damn amusement park for.

Even after talking to Jin, now sitting alone on the same bench they shared for that short amount of time, he was beginning to grow confused on his purpose for even wanting to meet with him in the first place. Had he come to gloat? No. He did all the gloating in front of the person he really wanted to hurt. Had he come to repair their non-existent relationship? Judging from the way Jin's jaw locked and eyes narrowed every time he looked at the blonde told him he couldn't, at least not right now. He gritted his teeth and angrily searched for a solution to his problem. He wanted a good relationship with Jin, he wanted to be in his life, but at the same time he wanted Kazuya to suffer. How was he suppose to do that without his nephew becoming collateral like he had years prior? How much longer was Lars going to tolerate the deep abyss separating him and the only family member he had left that would even talk to him?

Sighing and closing his eyes, willing his explosive anger away and thinking rationally, he knew he would have to sacrifice something in order to get what he wanted. And what he truly wanted was far too valuable to give up again. He wouldn't make the same mistake. Coming to a quick resolution, Lars figured it was time for him to leave as well before some frantic mother thought he was creepy for just sitting around watching children play.

He stood and wiped of his jeans, stretching a little as he did so before reaching in his pocket for another cigarette. His eyes lingered faintly on two kids in front of him chasing each other, their similarities in facial features indicating that they were brother and sister, earning a nice little sneer from him. He turned away once they ran off crying about a scary man, lighting his cigarette as he walked towards his car parked and patiently waiting on his return. Lars thought it was only natural that he hate children. Hated them deeply. But he would never admit that it was only human nature to hate something one couldn't have and he wondered why he was so blessed and cursed at the same time.

* * *

Sebastian had resumed driving shortly after his conversation with Lili and just like before they fell into a silence that didn't seem to be letting up any time soon. He had confidence that she would listen to what he had said and knew that it was in her blood to obey. To make himself feel better he continually told himself that she would have no choice but to obey considering it was quite literally within her birthright to follow such a rule.

The goosebumps on her arms and legs hadn't gone unnoticed by him and he turned off the A/C when he felt like she was frozen enough. It would do her some good to get outside so she could get some of her color back. No, he hadn't asked her father for permission to take her out, but with his standing as of now with the man, he had that kind of power to take his sarge any place he wanted to. Speaking of taking her places, their destination held a sort of significance that would render the young girl...emotionally unstable, maybe, but it would serve a greater purpose than simply tearing her down. It would teach her a lesson. A lesson that her mother already knew and never got a chance to teach her toddler at the time. It shouldn't be him, Sebastian knew that fully, but he owed Lilian much more than his loyalty to her remaining family line. Painful as this lesson may be, it would keep her alive. No matter how cruel and inhumane, and monstrous her father may be towards her, she must keep in mind that her health and her existence rule out over everything else. This lesson would teach her the saddening punishment of what would happen should she ignore herself as well and end up in the same position her mother had.

Sebastian refused to let that happen. To tarnish the memory of her mother that way would only point to the thought that he never loved or honored Lilian. Mind venturing back to his passenger, he reflected on her sole duty as the heir to the Celeste name. The Rochefort family line, was by no means something to mock, powerful in their own right, but in comparison to the Celestes, was insignificant. Her duties as heir to the Rochefort family, was simple. Keep the best for the company in mind at all times, for that company was the very foundation and basis for the family as a whole, and has been alive for as long as the first generation. The duties for being a Celeste heir however, was steeper. The heir must stay alive at all costs, and bear a child, preferably one, and preferably female. Any other child born must be discarded, or sent away from the current heir to diffuse any sort of future disagreement on whose rights belonged to whom. Luckily for Lilian's mother, Lili's grandmother, Alexa, met all the requirements of her birthright the first time, and was considered a sort of golden child amongst the Celeste name. Lilian however, didn't have such luck, and failed in both areas.

Lili hadn't even noticed when her goosebumps went away and she was sitting comfortably in her seat, instead of as stiff as a board. She hadn't recognized her surroundings as she stared out the window, nor did she exactly question where they were going any longer. All she knew was that it was taking an incredibly long time for them to reach their destination. The scenery had changed drastically from towering buildings and sidewalks with people bustling and trying to find their way to soft, lush hills that seem to roll past as they drove alongside them. Homes grew scarce and further apart the more they drove and eventually they reached an area that was not only occupied with a little farm and spacious land, but also patches of rice field. It was beautiful, and Lili hadn't known why she despised the countryside in the first place. Naturally she was a city girl and the very idea of ever raising livestock or keeping track of agriculture disgusted her, but it was nice to look at, and she couldn't snub the beauty of the farmer's hard work. Unfortunately, she knew that the existence of such places would soon cease the more that Japan advanced technically, and soon...places like these wouldn't hold anymore value nor usefulness come the next few years.

They crested and stopped on a hill looking over a small farm, forcing Sebastian to turn around and glance at Lili, immediately grabbing the girl's attention.

"Prepare yourself. Your lesson is about to start"

* * *

A/N: No excuses. Happy New Year! Keep my muse going by feeding me inspiring reviews...or i'll just go back and read the old ones. Did you catch the two major hints I dropped? And if some of you have been paying attention, the heavy foreshadowed revelation? ~Sasusakui


End file.
